DVDS Director is real star of strangely styled, quirky 'Dogville'
Nicole Kidman does a fine job of carrying the film.
By SUSAN DUNNE
HARTFORD COURANT
"Dogville," on first glance, is visually jarring: The action takes place on a bare sound stage, with the houses, bushes, roads, even a dog, drawn as chalk outlines on the floor.
Some will find this stylistic eccentricity unbearable, especially over three hours. Others will be nonplussed by its quirkiness but then forget about it because just about the only thing that's real and that matters are the people and their story. It all bears a striking resemblance to the 59th Psalm in its themes of wrongful persecution, fiery vengeance, fatherly protection and ever-ravening, metaphorical "dogs."
Nicole Kidman's runaway Grace seeks asylum and acceptance in the 1930s Rocky Mountain hamlet of Dogville, whose residents seem nice. They become less nice when they get the word that Grace has a price on her head. I'm not giving anything away to say that the picture of Kidman smiling on the DVD box cover is misleading: The townsfolk don't give Grace much to smile about. But how are the dogs of Dogville to know that Grace holds a dangerous secret?
Carries the film
Kidman, delicate and tragic as the blinkered idealist, carries the film admirably. Supporting performances are fine, especially by Paul Bettany, Stellan Skarsgard, Ben Gazzara and the wonderfully dry narrator, John Hurt.
But the real star of "Dogville" is director Lars von Trier. The story he churns up here is both fascinating and infuriating, with clear comparisons to the psalm: "For the cursing and lies that they utter, consume them in wrath." This Old Testament-style resolution signals a shift from von Trier's earlier films. Once upon a time, von Trier's heroines were incapable of malice; even the gravest mistreatment couldn't dim the transcendent purity of their souls. With "Dogville," von Trier seems to have discarded that ideal, as Grace ultimately lowers herself to the level of those who dog her.
This is the first film of a planned trilogy; the second, now in the works, has a premise that sounds like "Major Barbara" plus Randy Newman's "Rednecks." One hopes that in these other two films, von Trier will forgo the obnoxious end credits, which seem to belong to a less mature, less thoughtful film.
The DVD features commentary by Trier and cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle.