When Lars von Trier tackled the subject of sex (among many other things), the result was the epic, hilarious, disturbing, outrageous, and great two-part “Nymphomaniac.” Next up for the Danish provocateur will be the subject of murder in his long developing, “The House That Jack Built.” First conceived as an eight-part TV series, it has since been reconfigured as a feature film, though it seems the epic scope of “Nymphomaniac” could still be on the table.
READ MORE: Cannes Review: Park Chan-wook’s Gorgeous, Silly, Fun, Sexy ‘The Handmaiden’
So far, the only plot details available have been that ‘Jack’ would tell the story of a serial killer, but from the murderer’s point of view. However, it has now been revealed that the story will take place in Washington across ten to twelve years, during the ’70s and ’80s, but of course, given that von Trier has never stepped foot in the United States (he has a fear of flying), the project will shoot in Europe. And one has to wonder if von Trier has reworked elements from “Washington,” his planned but ultimately scrapped conclusion to his “Land Of Opportunity” trilogy that was started with “Dogville” and “Manderlay.” Time will tell, but speaking at Cannes, producer Louise Vesth has certainly raised expectations about the movie.
READ MORE: Watch: 7-Minute Video Explores The Emotional Extremes Of Lars von Trier’s ‘Melancholia’
“He calls it the five incidents, which is the murder cases and then he has a lot of digressions in between to connect the story, in a similar way as in ‘Nymphomaniac,’ ” she said, adding that, “It will be a serial killer movie like you’ve never seen before.”
With two male leads, and four female leads, the story does sound expansive, and the cast will be a mix of American and European actors. Production starts in August, will take a break with von Trier set to tweak the script and then resume filming in 2017. And this means you’ll be waiting a while for this one: “The House That Jack Built” is aiming to premiere in 2018. [Variety]