Plot summary

The lives of adult sisters Justine (Kirsten Dunst) and Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg) are presented, one story centering around a specific event dedicated to each of the sisters. In Justine's story, it is the day of her wedding to Michael (Alexander Skarsgård). The entire day is overseen by controlling Claire, with the lavish reception, paid by Claire's wealthy husband John (Kiefer Sutherland), being held on John and Claire's vast rural and remote estate. Those closest to Justine know that she suffers from severe depression. On the surface, the reception is most affected by the interaction between Justine and Claire's estranged parents, who split long ago. However, bubbling under the surface are the interrelationships between all the major players at the wedding which may have a greater impact on what happens to Justine. While Claire and John state that everything they have done this day is to make Justine happy, most of those major players are working toward self-interest and/or truth to their inner being, including Justine's boss Jack (Stellan Skarsgård), who also happens to be Michael's best man. In Claire's story, which takes place a short unspecified time following the wedding, an astrological incident on the wedding day has been explained as a rogue planet, named Melancholia, having entered the solar system. According to astronomy buff John, the scientific prediction is that Melancholia will miss colliding with any of the major bodies in the solar system, including Earth. John is organizing a viewing party for the night of the best sighting of Melancholia, the party on the estate for him, Claire, their small son Leo (Cameron Spurr), and Justine. While John steadfastly prepares for the party, Claire cannot help but be worried that the scientists are wrong, and that the end of the world is near. Although Justine is in a state of nearly total debilitation after arriving on the estate, due to her general depression, she ultimately evolves to a state of eerie calm, which may be a foretelling of what is to come.—Huggo