Dogville (2003)

• Year: 2003
• Released: 23 Apr 2004
• Country: Denmark, Netherlands, Sweden, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Finland, Norway, Italy
• Adwords: 23 wins & 34 nominations
• IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0276919/
• Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dogville
• Metacritics: https://www.metacritic.com/movie/dogville
• Available in: 720p, 1080p,
• Language: English
• MPA Rating: R
• Genre: Crime, Drama
• Runtime: 178 min
• Writer: Lars von Trier
• Director: Lars von Trier
• Cast: Nicole Kidman, Paul Bettany, Lauren Bacall
• Keywords: police, friendship, rape, blackmail, exploitation,

	8.0/10
	60/100
	69% – Critics
	89% – Audience

Dogville Storyline

The time: the Great Depression. The place: the town of Dogville, nestled in the American Rockies. Dogville is both literally and figuratively the end of the road, in the literal sense being that there is only one road in and out of town, the physical end of the road on the other side of town being an abandoned silver mine. One evening, resident Tom Edison Jr., an aspiring writer who has yet to write more than a few words, and in that vein a budding philosopher, meets a scared, well dressed, beautiful young woman, Grace, who he learns is evading some gangsters who want to kill her. In speaking with the other fourteen adult residents of the town, they a generally unaccepting lot, Tom, believing he a good observer of the human spirit as a writer and philosopher, wants them collectively to harbor Grace from the gangsters. If being truthful to himself, Tom would admit that he has ulterior motives in his attraction to her. In not wanting to place their lives in danger, Grace does not divulge to any of them the nature of her relationship with the gangsters. Besides being collectively unaccepting, each individual resident has a problem in his or her life, each one different from the others. Against their initial hesitation, they decide to allow Grace to stay for a two week trial period to gauge for themselves Grace’s character. During that time on Tom’s advice to her, Grace will do whatever task the residents ask of her to win them over. Although that measure does not yield the results either Tom or Grace was expecting, Grace, by being open and true to herself, is able to win them over. The more and more that Grace becomes a benefit to the town as a collective, the more certain individuals want to take advantage of her good nature for their own personal benefit, so much so that life in Dogville, which for Grace started out as being a Utopia, may become her prison, much like it has been for the existing residents, but for Grace a different type of prison that she experienced with the gangster.

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Dogville Movie Reviews

Unique and Disquieting

So many have described the events of this film, especially the character of Grace (Nicole Kidman). The screenwriter and director offer us the very armpit of existence. What is more ugly than offering to help someone whose life may be in danger, and then using her vulnerability to get their way. Like a Peckinpaugh film, the more transgressions, the greater the reprisals. I could never watch this film again because it sets the head spinning with the intense violence. Kidman is excellent but what message are we to take from it?

“If there’s any town this world would be better without, this is it.”

It probably won’t dawn on you what the film maker is trying to say in “Dogville” until well into the picture, and even then I think there’s a wide range of interpretation possible. For me, it began to click when the town citizens began doubling their demands of Grace (Nicole Kidman) to do more work for less pay. But the ‘taking advantage’ didn’t stop there, as most of Dogville’s men folk began extracting their pound of flesh from her, in a manner of speaking. Perhaps the one person who violated Grace the most however, at least in my estimation, was Vera (Patricia Clarkson), who destroyed the only physical possessions Grace held dear while making her watch and challenging her not to cry. The symbolism of the chain is glaring, as Grace becomes a prisoner to the whims of Dogville’s citizens with no hope of escape unless an outside force should intrude to coerce them into facing their inhumanity. The idea that the scenario presented was all a test designed by Grace and her father (James Caan – the unnamed Big Man) was something I thought about as the Big Man’s thugs were given the go ahead to destroy the town. At last willing to face the truth about society’s inhumanity, Grace participates in it’s demise by personally shooting Tom (Paul Bettany), while asserting that “Some things you have to do yourself”.

I wasn’t quite sure how to take this film when it started out. For a while my disappointment with the excessive voice over narration and minimalist sets began to get real irritating. But after some time, the story took on the quality of a slow motion car wreck that one just has to take a good long look at to be sure nothing’s missed. It’s not the kind of movie I’d think of recommending to anyone though; much of the dialog is dense and even though there’s a lot going on, it feels at times like things are standing still. And except for Nicole Kidman’s character, almost all the rest seem static in their devotion to themselves. This is definitely not a picture for everyone, and something I just thought about that’s kind of funny, for many viewers a good alternate title for the movie might have been ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’.

extremely experimental

It’s Depression era Dogville which lies at the end of the road to an abandoned silver mine in the Rocky Mountains. Tom Edison (Paul Bettany) hears a gun shot and then finds Grace (Nicole Kidman) on the run from some gangsters. Tom hides her in the mines and then tries to convince the town to protect her. Most are skeptical and Grace does chores for the people. They eventually accept her into their town but the ugliness eventually grows.

This is a highly experimental theatrical experience. The set is more like a play. The buildings have no walls and things are often represented by written labels on the ground. It sets the movie feeling fake. I also don’t like the constant narration. This is something deliberate which detracts from the enjoyment. It accentuates the fakeness of this morality play. It’s also way too long. The good aspect is Kidman and the other great actors. In addition, the movie has a point and it makes it with surety. This is an unique film and not an enjoyable one.