As many readers will be aware Lars von Trier was one of the founders of the “Dogme” style of filmmaking, and whilst Dogville does not share all the characteristics of a Dogma film Trier’s distinctive style is very much apparent in the feature.
The basic story revolves around a remote community of people, the settlement shares is the name of the movie, whose day to day life is challenged – literally – by the arrival of a stranger to the scene. In this case the stranger is none other than Nicole Kidman (in the role of Grace), a young lady fleeing some mobsters. She is found by writer and philosopher Tom Edison (Paul Bettany), who helps her to hide and avoid immediate capture. As it turns out Tom is due to give the townsfolk a talk about morality and other issues that they find uninteresting, he challenges them to welcome the stranger into the community and help Grace to make it up to them if she stays. From here we learn more about each person in Dogville and how Grace changes all of their lives.
I personally found this film fascinating both technically and from the point of view of the story and how it explores human behaviour. In the latter case we seem to be dealing with power, or rather the perception of it, and how that perception of power can influence behaviour between individuals and between a group of people and an individual.
From a technical point of view this film also impressed me. Trier strips away the set to the bare minimum, chalk lines on the sound stage represent the walls and boundaries of property and props are reduced to the minimum necessary. The actors are forced to mime the opening and closing of doors and other interactions with invisible objects. At first this is unsettling, but by stripping away the physical boundaries we are forced to take notice of the barriers of communication and behaviour between the characters. This also focuses our attention on the performances of the actors (just take a look at the cast list and you’ll get an idea of the talent on offer in this feature). The camera often uses extreme close ups, and scenes were clearly shot multiple times with improvisational freedom – resulting in rather interesting discontinuities of action between cuts. At nearly three hours long the film is not for people who cannot concentrate well for long periods of time or people who require eye candy, there is virtually no eye candy in Dogville! The film however is very well structured, into nine separate chapters that provide a clue to the direction the story will take, and narration is performed by the wonderful voice of John Hurt. The narration itself creates a child’s bedtime story feel to it, and you sense by the end that you have witnessed a tale about morality, or rather amorality.
As to the end of the film, opinions are divided on the subject. Several people I petitioned felt it was over the top and did not like the resolution of the plot. I thought the end was pretty amusing, and personally thought that it was a very just ending, maybe slightly over the top perhaps. I cannot wait for the DVD…
****1/2 (out of 5)
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