This weekend sees the limited release of Lars Von Trier’s latest mindbender: Nymphomaniac. Fans of the enigmatic Danish director will relish the chance to see both volumes back to back with this one-day (Saturday Feb 22) release, but if you need convincing to see 4.5 hours of Lars then read on.

Charlotte GainsbourgGainsbourg gets up to some raunchy stuff in Nymphomaniac

The film, like many of Von Trier’s, sees Charlotte Gainsbourg take the lead role. She’s a troubled nymphomaniac who provides the film’s plot by recounting her life after Seligman (Stellan Skarsgård) finds her beaten in an alley.

It’s split in to two parts – Volume I and II – and both parts are playing tomorrow in London as a double feature. The reviews, however, seem to focus on individual volumes, with the first achieving 93% on Rotten Tomatoes, and the second, 83%.

“A provocative, engrossing, often hilarious, frequently tough picture. Not for all sensibilities but it's among von Trier's more playful, purely entertaining films, with insight and humour in even the horrors,” wrote Empire’s Kim Newman in his review.

“By the end of four hours the concept "picaresque" has been serially used and abused, much like the film's heroine. There's a vision here, even so, that shapes the film's prolix, promiscuous ends,” said Nigel Andrews in The Financial Times.

“For the most part Nymphomaniac is compelling and achieves exactly what von Trier set out to do: a multi-faceted exploration of sexuality, in all its bizarre, twisted glory,” writes James Mottram for The List.

And here, at Contact Music, Rich Cline awarded Nymphomaniac (both volumes as one film) 4/5, writing: “For the most part Nymphomaniac is compelling and achieves exactly what von Trier set out to do: a multi-faceted exploration of sexuality, in all its bizarre, twisted glory.”

If one thing’s for sure, it’s that Lars Von Trier will take you out of your comfort zone with Nymphomaniac, and it’s something you should experience in its enterity. So what are you waiting for, pick up the phone and start dialing! Oh wait, that’s a different film.