There has been a lot of controversy surrounding “The House That Jack Built,” and barely any of it is regarding the actual film. Written and directed by Lars von Trier, ‘Jack’ is the film that marks the polarizing filmmaker’s return to the Cannes Film Festival. The director was previously banned from Cannes for his unseemly remarks about Hitler, but after discussion by the people behind the prestigious event, von Trier has been welcomed back. And “The House That Jack Built” seems to be a film that will definitely get people talking.
IFC Films has just released some new images for the upcoming film, and we get our first look at Uma Thurman’s character. The film follows a serial killer that operated in the US during the ‘70s. Judging by the new images, Jack, played by Matt Dillon, definitely looks the part. With the glasses that could only be described as “serial killer glasses,” there’s no doubt that this is a guy you would want to avoid.
The film stars Dillon and Thurman, along with Bruno Ganz, Siobhan Fallon Hogan, Sofie Gråbøl, Riley Keough, and Jeremy Davies. “The House That Jack Built” has its premiere at Cannes in May before being released by IFC Films in the Fall.
Take a look at the new images below, as well as a synopsis for the film:
USA in the 1970s. We follow the highly intelligent Jack through 5 incidents and are introduced to the murders that define Jack’s development as a serial killer. We experience the story from Jack’s point of view. He views each murder as an artwork in itself, even though his dysfunction gives him problems in the outside world. Despite the fact that the final and inevitable police intervention is drawing ever near (which both provokes and puts pressure on Jack) he is – contrary to all logic – set on taking greater and greater chances. The goal is the ultimate artwork: A collection of all his killings manifested in a House that he builds. Along the way we experience Jack’s descriptions of his personal condition, problems and thoughts through a recurring conversation with the unknown Verge – a grotesque mixture of sophistry mixed with an almost childlike self-pity and in-depth explanations of, for Jack, dangerous and difficult manoeuvres.
