Review of Dancer in the Dark (2000) by Joey S — 09 Aug 2013

This is hands-down the most depressing musical ever made. Even the musical numbers, which seem cheery and lighthearted on the surface, are actually pretty sad when put into the context of the rest of the movie.

Björk (yes, that Björk) stars as Selma, a Czech immigrant living in the United States with her 10-year-old son. She barely scrapes by a living with her factory job, but she finds joy in her life through singing and watching musicals.

Unfortunately for Selma, she was born with a genetic disorder that is causing her to gradually lose her eyesight, and will have a similar effect on her son. She has been secretly saving up money all her life to pay for her son's surgery, but when her impoverished but greedy landlord (David Morse) finds out about her savings, Selma's life rapidly spirals out control.

If I explained further, you would be able to fully understand just how heartwrenchingly sad it gets, but I don't want to spoil anything else about the plot. Let's just say this movie will ruin your day and there's a good chance that you will cry so much that you and everyone else in your home will drown in your tears.

It's ridiculously sad. Björk gives a surprisingly powerful performance despite having no acting experience whatsoever. Her character Selma is completely selfless and only wants to give her son the operation he needs to maintain his eyesight, but the people around her bring her down so that they can get what they want.

Selma's life is so difficult that, when put into tough situations, she often daydreams that her life is a musical and that everyone around her spontaneously breaks out into song like in a musical.

All of the movie's musical numbers are actually just Selma's daydreams, and each one simply acts as a way for Selma to escape the morbid reality of her life. It starts off slowly with a lot of exposition, but as soon as the movie reaches its turning point about 45-50 minutes in (you'll know when it happens) it gets much more emotional and engaging.

Danish director Lars von Trier deserves a lot of credit for Dancer in the Dark. He manages to take all of the cheerfulness out of musicals, and that takes a true innovator to do. It will destroy your soul with sadness, but Björk's impressive performance makes Dancer in the Dark a worthwhile (and, again, very depressing) movie to watch.