Dogville  (2004)

Starring: Nicole Kidman, Paul Bettany, Lauren Bacall
Director: Lars von Trier

Rating: R

Studio: Lions Gate Films

Release Date: 03.26.04

Review Posted: 04.10.04

Spoilers: None

By Christopher T. Bryan

"Dogville" Food For Thought

I didn’t expect such a pointed and profound allegory of America from a movie by a Danish director, starring an Australian beauty, and a Brit. In the case of Dogville, taking the view of an outsider can serve to illuminate what is right in front of your face. Director Lars von Trier uses Dogville, an unusual and entertaining film, to cast his opinion on all manners of American society including, but not limited to, slavery, immigration, Hollywood, consumerism, the media, democracy, and a post 9-11 country.

Dogville is the name of a small town in Depression era America where nothing ever happens. This town has the usual blend of characters, each with their particular quirks, and of course each perfectly aware of everyone else’s business. The normalcy of the town is shattered when gunshots are heard followed by the appearance of Grace (Nicole Kidman). Grace is a beauty on the run and she needs a place to hide. The first person she meets in Dogville is Thomas Edison Jr. (Paul Bettany), who offers to speak with the townsfolk at the next town meeting in an effort to convince them to let Grace stay. At the meeting a democratic vote is taken that decides Grace can stay for two weeks, during which time they will assess whether or not she is worth the trouble it will take to hide her in Dogville. Tom comes up with the lackluster idea that in order to convince the town of Grace’s benefits she should offer to help each household for one hour a day, doing things that they don’t necessarily need doing, but would appreciate. The town warms up to Grace and accepts her but soon the friendly hugs and warm wishes turn into sneers and abuse.

The moralistic plot of Dogville is made more pointed in the way the story is told. Dogville opens with a title card indicating that the film will take place over nine chapters and a prologue; I couldn’t help but be reminded of Our Town and the old black and white films from the early days of cinema. Immediately present is the narration by John Hurt whose voice has the unique quality of being both gravelly and smooth. The narration continues throughout the film with an omniscient perspective that guides the viewer. Hurt’s narrative is serious in tone, but often the goal of the narration is to make the audience acutely aware of the ridiculousness of the situation.

Dogville is unique in that it is filmed entirely on a soundstage, with only chalk outlines of buildings and the most essential props used to represent the town. Besides offering a somewhat voyeuristic perspective, the barrenness of the set manages to pull the viewer in rather than alienate while at the same time criticizing Hollywood, an industry in which it seems every film produced must fill a quota of special effects. Perhaps more blatantly, the empty set seems to comment on America’s consumerism. This method takes away anything that could distract the viewer and also sets up perfectly the fact that the film takes place during the Depression when material things were at a minimum. Dogville bargains on the fact that if allowed to, an audience can use their imagination to fill in the blanks. 

Without the aid of extravagant sets, the audience’s gaze is fixed even more-so on the actors, who all offer fantastically understated performances. Kidman is demure and beautiful as usual, while bringing out raw emotion turned into a lust for revenge. The standout from the rest of the cast is Bettany as an introspective philosopher who is tormented by his desires. Bettany’s acting ability strongly backs up Kidman’s performance. 

When we aren’t getting a bird’s-eye-view of Dogville we are taken through the town by means of a handheld camera. Occasionally the camera jumps, and at times the editing is rough, lending more to the film’s bare bones aesthetic. There were moments when the movie drags its feet, but overall it moves along at a nice clip.

Von Trier’s final thought is made during the credits, when pictures from throughout America’s history are shown to the tune of David Bowie’s Young Americans. The pictures take on a new meaning as the final moments of Dogville settle into the minds of the viewers.

Dogville is nothing if not unique. It moralizes slavery and abuse in a way that demands in-depth thought. It’s not an anti-American film; however it should lead, as it did for me, to some interesting discussion about society and politics in America. I, for one, am interested to see where Grace will end up in the two sequels now in production.

Film Rating: êêêê  (out of 5)

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