Dogville (2003)

Directed by Lars Von Trier. Starring Nicole Kidman, Paul Bettany, Stellan Skarsgård, Chloë Sevigny, Patricia Clarkson, Lauren Bacall, Ben Gazzara, Željko Ivanek, Siobhan Fallon Hogan, Blair Brown, Bill Raymond, Harriet Andersson, Philip Baker Hall, James Caan, Jeremy Davies, Cleo King, Shauna Shim, Miles Purinton, Udo Kier, (voice) John Hurt. [R]

Polarizing, experimental film that leaves little open for interpretation and serves as a storytelling medium puzzle-box—a motion picture that’s broken up into chapters like a literary work, and plays out on a large stage-like space with minimalist scenery, Our Town-style. Set in the isolated Colorado hamlet of Dogville during the 1930s, the story revolves around a woman (Kidman) on the run from gangsters, who is welcomed to Dogville by Bettany’s young idealist, but she has to work hard to earn the trust and companionship of the other townsfolk. A bald-faced Christian allegory and a stark criticism of American attitudes and practices, its incendiary messaging is bound to rankle some viewers, but even with a didactic script replete with frequent narration breaks, the film is such a curiously absorbing button-pusher that even at almost three hours in length, it’s hard to turn away once the narrative fully kicks in. Most of the characters are one-dimensional by design, representative to the point of artificiality, but the acting across the board is of high quality, including Caan, who shows up near the end as if he’s shooting a guest spot for what happens to be a very important role. Screened at numerous film festivals and opened in several international markets up to a year prior to its limited U.S. release in 2004.

76/100