Review of Dogville (2003) by Steff A — 22 May 2013

Dogville! It 's a really great title isn't it? And an even greater movie it is! With this one Trier wants to show that he 'll never cease to astonish and surprise us. The whole movie is acted like a play on a sound stage with little to no set decorations and design only the outlines of the houses and various places of the town called Dogville. The movie still moves away from that gimmick fast enough and descends to a fall into the abyss that the human soul is. Trier once again leads his characters to extremes. The human condition is stripped bare as we witness Grace's interaction with the "good" people of Dogville.

This movie is about a girl named Grace who's running away from some gangsters and finds shelter in the small town of Dogville way up in the rockies. There the town's folk greet her with reluctance but soon enough she gains their trust and things couldn't be better with the whole town being happy as ever with her being there. But this isn't "Little house on the prairie for the damsel in distress"! This is a Lars Von Trier film damn it! Soon it will all go to a downward spiral from which none will escape until the cathartic ending.

The direction of the film is splendid. Trier, now a veteran in such screenplays, directs with ease and certainty. He knows exactly how to handle his actors and his stage with the result never being theatrical but all too cinematic and engrossing. The bare stage that he handles provides the ability to make some great shots, show some things simultaneously and hide some other actions in plain sight. In general the camera is handheld but it is never tiresome in a dogmatic way and I think that the film achieves some of the Dogma's goals without even realizing it.

The performances are also great altogether and the film is almost an ensemble piece but it never ceases to focus on Kidman's character. She, Paul Bettany, Philip Baker Hall,Stellan Skarsgard, Chloe Sevigny and James Caan, in his cameo, are all amazing putting forward simple but magnetic performances that are totally believable. It's about the art of letting down your guard and allow the filmmaker to use you in a way that is naturalistic but still allows for other elements to enter your performance.

The gist of the movie is the human condition and behavior. Trier plays with the dynamics found here and twists the notion of someone being the victim and then the culprit. The hunter and the hunted. This could be seen as a comment that touches society and defines it from times immemorial. Still it doesn't end there and also delves deep into the human soul and the character study of a collective consciousness, the people of Dogville, is one of the most impressive feats of this movie.

I will conclude the review with some questions. Do you want to watch a groundbreaking piece of art? Do you want to witness the dark depths of the human soul? Do you want to be entertained, moved and shocked? Do you want to watch a film featuring a star studded cast and a director at the height of his game? Then watch "Dogville"!