DOGVILLE
A film review by David N. Butterworth
Copyright 2004 David N. Butterworth
***1/2 (out of ****)
There is, I suspect, no limit to the number of adjectives one can fling
at Lars von Trier's controversial "Dogville": controversial (for starters),
challenging, unique, theatrical, allegorical, artificial, anti-American,
anti-bourgeois, anti-Hollywood, striking, stagy, profound, pretentious and,
with a running length of a fraction under three hours, certainly long. I
personally would add the words daring and unsubtle to that abbreviated
list as von Trier, the Danish auteur and co-founder of the Dogme 95
school of filmmaking, continues to produce edgy, thought-provoking, and
systematically diverse work. "Dogville" is different in so much as the entire
action is restricted to a minimalistic set representing the titular town, a
1930's Colorado community of chalk outlines, meager furniture, and
repressed human souls. A film in nine chapters and a prologue,
"Dogville" often views its society from above, like a board game; we see
the main drag labeled Elm Street, domiciles inhabited by "Vera" and
"Tom," a bench, a dog bowl. Into this regimented social order comes a
pretty catalyst, Grace (Nicole Kidman), on the run from the Mob, a
harbinger of change seeking refuge. The suspicious and closeted
residents of Dogville vote to give the fugitive shelter (for a price) but her
presence sparks conflicts that build to a harrowing climax. Splendidly cast
and acted (Paul Bettany, Ben Gazzara, Patricia Clarkson, Blair Brown,
Lauren Bacall, Philip Baker Hall, Chloé Sevigny, and Stellan Skarsgård
are all on hand; John Hurt narrates) and brilliantly written and directed,
"Dogville" can easily be dismissed simply on the veracity of its end credits
sequence (backed by David Bowie's "Young Americans"). But if you
approach everything prior to that with an open mind, you might just leave
"Dogville" enraptured.
--
David N. Butterworth
dnb@dca.net
Got beef? Visit "La Movie Boeuf"
online at http://members.dca.net/dnb
========== X-RAMR-ID: 37582 X-Language: en X-RT-ReviewID: 1271736 X-RT-TitleID: 1126569 X-RT-SourceID: 878 X-RT-AuthorID: 1393 X-RT-RatingText: 3.5/4
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