Review of Dancer in the Dark (2000) by Ryan M — 10 Jul 2010

"Dancer In The Dark" has a pretty neat get-out-clause when you put its flaws under scrutiny: The plot isn't meant to make complete or part sense. Disregarding the contrived storyline, it still contains enough problems to make it a poor film.

Part musical, part twist on the American Dream, Lars Von Trier casts Bjork (in her first and last acting role) as Selma, a daydreaming Czech immigrant obssessed with musicals. She works in a factory with her best friend Kathy (Catherine Deneuve, her role's practically an afterthought), has a young son she shares a trailer with, and pays her rent to Bill Houston (David Morse), a cop on the verge of bankruptcy.

Selma takes dancing lessons, watches old musicals in the cinema and works hard to save up enough money so she can pay for her son's eye operation (his eyes are going bad just like his mother's).

Nearing the end of the first act Selma's eyesight deteriorates, hampering the way she works, forcing her to imagine herself in a few extravagant dance numbers and Bill does something you expect him to do (steal Selma's money) then he does something you don't expect him to do (change personalities 3 times in 3 seconds).

Considering how important to the rest of the plot his sudden schizophrenia seems (it sets the tragic wheels in motion for the next 2 acts), you would think a major plot movement such as this wouldn't require some flimsy contrivances and sudden changes of heart from Bill and Selma to get the story going, but Lars Von Trier doesn't seem to care how the story gets to his point, as long as it gets there.

The storyline itself is relatively melodramatic once you cut to the bare bones of it, and Lars is only too happy to milk the drama by exaggerating all the circumstances surrounding Selma to the nth degree; a ton of reaction shots and a few extreme closeups of Bjork crying near the end; her fantasy dance sequences use far brighter colours than the drabness of normal life; in the final scene there's even a heartbeat sound effect playing relatively quietly, and because it's set in America, everyone automatically dislikes Selma for being a commie from Czechslovakia, being unfairly biased towards her and painting everyone in America in very poor light (not just talking about the hand-held drabby cinematography either).

Everyone around Selma is largely underwritten, Selma herself doesn't have much weight to her character, Lars Von Trier's ability of putting his actors through hell gets some very good rewards here, Bjork has to display a wide range of emotions and was rewarded with Best Actress at the Cannes film festival, she's the only real good thing about "Dancer In The Dark"; it's flimsily plotted, incredibly drawn out and exaggerated merely for shock value and to exhibit Lars Von Trier's dim view of American life, Lars Von Trier has never been to America due to a fear of flying, with that in mind you don't have to take his views or this film relatively seriously, which takes away from its intended shock value which is already dampened by Von Trier's gimmicky direction.

Still, it does have one thing it can take solace in: It's not as bad as "Antichrist".