O'Hehir on von Trier

I was going to post this part of Andrew O'Hehir's "Beyond the Multiplex" column at Salon that annoyed me to no end. I've read a few of his columns there because Grist has a premium account. Then I decided, if I thought it was awful, there's no reason to make you read it.

All I really have to say is that I'm baffled when critics leave no room for ambiguity in films they discuss. Von Trier is interesting for precisely everything O'Hehir seems to fault him for. Each of his films that I've seen has depicted the dark side of human nature, used contrapuntal music to heighten the effect of his story and visuals, asked difficult moral questions that he chooses not to answer, and generally draws the viewer into a confusing mess from which there is no easy escape. That is, if you engage with von Trier's films, you've got to struggle come to terms with both the presentation, in terms of form, as well as the reprehensible actions of his characters if you find them at all plausible.

I find I've got a lot more to say related to von Trier and O'Hehir's "review," but nothing pithy or readable.