Dogville
Originally Written: August 2004
A great many controversial films have come out this year- “The Passion of the Christ,” “Fahrenheit 9/11,” “She Hate Me,” “The Village”- but I can’t think of one quite as original as “Dogville,” the latest experiment by Danish writer-director Lars von Trier (“Breaking the Waves,” “Dancer in the Dark”). Anyone who’s seen either “Waves”- which was overrated- or “Dancer”- which I found underrated- knows you aren’t in for a traditional film; von Trier was one of the founders of the Dogme 95 movement in Europe, which basically set out guidelines for rebel filmmaking that included: no sets, only natural lights, no pre-recorded sound effects or music, and other things. So what does he do? He makes a film that goes against those very guidelines.
Traditionalists of von Trier’s work may not like it; I was surprisingly fascinated- surprised in how engrossed I became in the story, that is. In “Dogville,” von Trier tells the story of the town of Dogville, a fictional town in the Rocky Mountains during the Great Depression that is rattled by the arrival of a stranger named Grace to the town. Tom Edison, a writer in town, stumbles upon her after he hears gunshots coming from below. After an encounter with some men trying to find Grace, Tom brings her to the town, and asks the townfolk to let her hide out and become part of their community, though they occasionally get a visit from the police of a neighboring town hanging missing person and “Wanted” posters for Grace. But as Grace becomes more and more accepted in the town, the people in the town (played by a who’s who of the best character actors, including Patricia Clarkson, Chloe Sevigny, and Stellan Skarsgaard) begin to reveal their true colors.
The thing you have to understand about von Trier before you even contemplate watching “Dogville” is this- he’s never been in the U.S. (he’s afraid of flying). It’s important you hear this before you watch the movie because that will help you understand why every character in this movie is like a cliche out of an old movie- because that’s all the experience von Trier has with Americans outside of those he works with in his movies. “Dogville” has been attacked as anti-American by some. I feel those attacks are unfair. Why? Because like M. Night Shyamalan did in “The Village,” von Trier’s characters are developed and tried through a fear they can’t control, however much they want to. In “The Village,” it was a fear of what’s outside of their borders. In “Dogville,” it’s a fear of what Grace- this woman whom holds her old life close to the vest- may be hiding from the townspeople, who gradually accept her, but not without considering the consequences.
Von Trier sucks you into this story without compromise or condensation. This is all the more remarkable when you consider that von Trier sets “Dogville” on a sound stage, uses minimal props, and rather than building a set, uses chalk outlines and descriptions written of the ground (like “Elm St.,” “Roseberry Bushes”) to create the town of Dogville, with the actors mimicking knocking on the doors or opening the doors as sound effects are utilized. “Dogville” then takes on the illusion of a stage play where you are the only audience member, and the effect is spellbinding. Like watching a play, you get to the point where the lack of practical sets is forgotten, and you just accept what you see, courtesy von Trier’s sly visual storytelling and inventiveness (kudos to his almost sarcastic use of narration, read by John Hurt).
The actors have a hand at that illusion as well. The supporting cast is stellar, but what makes “Dogville” click is the two performances at the center of the movie. As Tom, Paul Bettany (“Master and Commander,” “A Beautiful Mind”) is hypnotic as an emotionally complex writer with a soft side for the goodness inherient in people. He’s the driving force of the story as we see Grace’s interaction with the town, which he introduces her into, and is Grace’s main connection with Dogville. It’s a terrific, understated performance in an already-impressive career. Still, it’s Grace who is the film’s beating heart, and Nicole Kidman plays the role with powerful vulnerability. This is a side of Kidman I have yet to see onscreen- though we saw glimpses in “Cold Mountain” and “The Hours”- and she plays it beautifully. You really get a sense that as she becomes more immersed in the everyday lives of the people of Dogville that she feels more and more cutoff from these people, which will become painfully evident when the town becomes more and more manipulative and exploitive of her. This is her best performance since “Eyes Wide Shut”; like that performance, I wouldn’t doubt if I saw her snubbed by the Academy come January. Still, von Trier- a true iconoclast- has a knack of directing women to awards (“Breaking the Waves'” Emily Watson was Oscar-nominated, and “Dancer in the Dark’s” Bjork was a Golden Globe finalist), and with his latest provocation- which rates with the year’s best films- you can’t wait to see what he brings out of Bryce Dallas Howard- fresh off her stellar breakthrough in “The Village”- when she takes over the Kidman role in von Trier’s 2nd film in the planned trilogy, “Manderlay.”
