I've read some of the reviews here and I think a lot of people are looking at this film in a wrong perspective. The idea for the film originated during a therapy session Lars von Trier attended during treatments for his depression. The therapist told him that depressive people tend to act more calmly than others under heavy pressure, because they already expect bad things to happen. It's not about science fiction and it's not a disaster movie. It's a film that examines the human psyche during a disaster. The film is very subtle and yes slow at times but as someone whos struggled with severe depression I related to and understood Kirsten Dunst's character so much. We're dealing with such flawed and sad characters so the slow pace made sense. I would say this is more of a psychological drama than anything else. This film is so beautiful and the acting is superb.