Lars von Trier, much like many of his films, is a bit of an enigma. He certainly needs to work on his sense of humour, if his comments at Canne last year – which caused the organisers to take the unprecedented step of declaring him persona non grata – are anything to go by; but declaring yourself to be a Nazi in front of a bunch of journalists is likely to ruffle a few feathers here and there.

But what's more disappointing is the Danish director's run of poor form of late. His 2003 effort Dogville was an overambitious mess, while 2009's Antichrist was ten times more boring than it was supposedly controversial.

And although Melancholia isn't exactly a return to his best (as in Breaking the Waves and The Idiots), it's certainly a step in the right direction.

Although weddings are supposed to be such joyous occasions, it's no real surprise that they turn nasty so easily. It's only to be expected with the coming together of more than one family.

It's Justine's (Kirsten Dunst) big day, and her wedding party is quite a lavish affair. It's taking place in a beautiful location, that just so happens to be the home of her sister Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg) and her wealthy husband John (Kiefer Sutherland). It's certainly a romantic locale, as well as having its own 18-hole golf course, as John constantly reminds everyone.

But even though it's a very expensive do, it doesn't stop family members sniping at one another at any opportunity. The biggest offenders just so happen to be Justine's Mum (Charlotte Rampling) and Dad (John Hurt). Still, Justine isn't going to let any of that spoil her day. What does do a lot of the spoiling however, is her ever darkening mood.

Her new hubbie Michael (Alexander Skarsgård) is trying his best to keep his wife happy, but she's clearly on a slippery slope of depression.

During this whole event, the world is transfixed by the appearance of a planet – known as Melancholia – as it emerged from behind the sun. According to John, who has a telescope and knows about such things, its trajectory is one that could be best described as being a 'fly by'. As it turns out though, Melancholia gets a whole lot closer than everyone thinks.

Hey Kiefer, did you know that the following wedding took place between 2.00pm and 3.00pm?

At the start of the film, von Trier plays with the audience a little, as he subjects them to the slowest of slow motion images; the kind you would find in a variety of science fiction disaster films. But as the first part of his film begins, he then shows his hand with a bigger reveal, that of the break-up of emotions and relationships during a very tense period. And it is this dark tone that devours the rest of the film.

Although von Trier has collected a number of big Hollywood names for this project – that includes Jack Bauer and a True Blood vampire – everything is still done the Lars von Trier way. That used to be the Dogma 95 way, but that movement appears to be long gone, sadly. Now he's all for introspective characters that don't say how they're feeling, they simply emote. And even special effects – if he still has his Dogma membership card, it should be torn up.

As you would expect, he gets some great performances from his cast. More impressively however, he manages to keep both Charlottes (Gainsbourg and Rampling) fully dressed throughout, which is quite an achievement, considering their shared penchant for on screen nudity.

Where the film stumbles however, is in the script. Justine's nosedive into depression just seems to come out of nowhere. It's unclear as to whether it's linked with the arrival of the planet or not, as it certainly doesn't appear to be affecting any of the other guests in quite the same way. Of course weddings are stressful, but it would have been great to have some insight as to why Justine is suffering the way she is. Without any explanation, it's truly difficult to empathise with her.

Unlike the second part that focuses on Claire. Her journey is a more sympathetic one, as she tries to hold her entire family together as they slowly come apart at the seams.

The film as a whole is beautifully put together and von Trier creates cinematic poetry in places. It's pacing of tip-toe proportions may put some off though, as the film takes its time in displaying its own universe of themes and how its characters react to them.

Despite its apocalyptic premise (on a number of levels), Melancholia still manages to be one of von Trier's most accessible films of recent years.