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Sneak Preview: "Dogville"
By Lee Tistaert Published March 24, 2004
Since I did not actually stay for the entire evening, this column will be cut short in terms of audience discussion, but even so, there was no guest speaker for this session. Dogville, Nicole Kidman?s new art picture directed by Lars von Trier (Dancer in the Dark, Breaking the Waves), is one of the most boring and pretentious films I?ve ever (partly) seen.
I walked out of this film 80 minutes in when there was still nearly 100 minutes to go, and I could have left very early on but decided to invest a little faith. Nevertheless, I decided to write this up to give you all a glance of what you can expect from the film, and to spread on a warning.
From the 80 minutes that I saw, this is mostly a love-it or hate-it film, and theoretically, it isn?t really a film. Dogville is essentially a play caught on film, and it is whether or not you can tolerate plays that will partly be the key to whether or not you like it. I usually don?t like plays, as I find many of them boring even if they?re well acted. I usually like to see believable depictions of scenes, in real locations; and since plays are set on a stage, I know the depictions aren?t real, which can take away from the experience.
Dogville is set on a stage with an outline of a small town, with a white background (during the day, and a black background at night) surrounding the perimeters so you cannot see beyond the town. On this stage there are markings for homes and structures, but there are no literal homes or structures: you can see everything (inside and outside) that is going on at all times (the characters are always visible). You have to imagine the presence of the structures, along with props that the characters refer to.
And on this stage, nothing happens beyond character interactions. And in some ways the production reminded me of the traditional John Sayles film in that it simply involves characters talking about matters that I don?t care about. I was not a fan of Sayles? film, Sunshine State (I thought it was dreadfully slow), and Limbo, which wasn?t the type of film I wanted it to be.
We also have an ensemble cast depicting roles that aren?t meaty, and this is one of the most miscast films I?ve seen in recent time. I think Nicole Kidman is a good actress even though I haven?t liked some of her films (I probably liked her the best in Eyes Wide Shut), and I?m also a fan of Philip Baker Hall, Chloe Sevigny, Jeremy Davies, and Patricia Clarkson.
None of the mentioned names serve a special purpose in the film, and even Kidman ? the star of the vehicle ? fills a role that doesn?t demand much. Some critics are probably going to rave her performance for being brave and whatnot (there is a verbal/physical abuse element in the story involving her, which I didn?t make it far enough to witness), but from what I saw, I didn?t even care what was going to happen to anyone, including her. And you can blame me for being biased since I didn?t stay to see everyone?s performance to the very end, but I couldn?t stand the picture any longer.
If you?ve seen the trailer for Dogville, there?s probably a reason why Lions Gate decided to go for a split-screen effect there ? had they shown the stage in its entirety, moviegoers might get confused. And so unless filmgoers are informed of the feature?s play format through reviews, many will probably be caught a little off guard once the first shot of the movie is established.
I?ve seen Dancer in the Dark, which I liked, and segments of Breaking the Waves, which I am not a big fan of, but it seems like a decent picture. Dogville has a hand-held camera style much like Dancer and Waves, but the feature reminded me more of Breaking the Waves. While that film is a very well acted and directed picture, it failed to involve me emotionally; with Dogville, the acting?s not bad, but the story is not set up in such a fashion that wins over my support, and it continues to chug along in first gear.
The film mostly relies on you liking Nicole Kidman right from the start. Though I do admire her talent, I am not the kind of moviegoer who is delighted the first second I see her. And since the film moves along at a very slow pace with not a whole lot going on, activity and character breakdown wise, I never connected with her persona (nor with anyone else).
Dogville also relies on one?s imagination to make everything come to life. Kidman?s persona (Grace) stumbles into this town (entitled Dogville), running from the mob, and attempts to find refuge with the kind folks who reside there. You have to imagine Kidman?s past, as there aren?t any flashbacks (from the segment I saw) that visually tell us what happened previously.
Kidman?s character interacts with the town folk and helps them in various ways; as time passes, her price for staying there turns into a troubled manner, especially when she has a secret. The film tries to dive into a controversial discussion regarding the act of doing good and what Americans will resort to when they do not understand something that is different from the norm.
Dogville is a social commentary that brings up issues like immigration and foreign policy, indirectly; and within these situations, it can be easy to shrug your shoulders and simply say, ?I really don?t care.? These matters may be important to discuss, but with the limitations, including a straightforward (one location) set and a script that doesn?t require characters to do much, the context is just bland as hell ? and for even 80 minutes of its 180, torturous.
Dogville is three hours long, and the host of this program that I attend even mentioned in his introduction that the feature would likely result in walkouts. Not too long into the film, some people were already taking off (and more did over time), but considering that this theater holds close to 1000 people (and it was almost a full house on this evening), there were still a lot of people who were sticking it out to the end, or so it seemed.
The host couldn?t get Lars von Trier booked for the evening, as the director lives in Europe and refuses to fly anywhere. Next week they are showing The Alamo, which I don?t really want to see, but hopefully it?ll be better than Dogville, and that will be the next session I?ll be reporting on.
I walked out of this film 80 minutes in when there was still nearly 100 minutes to go, and I could have left very early on but decided to invest a little faith. Nevertheless, I decided to write this up to give you all a glance of what you can expect from the film, and to spread on a warning.
From the 80 minutes that I saw, this is mostly a love-it or hate-it film, and theoretically, it isn?t really a film. Dogville is essentially a play caught on film, and it is whether or not you can tolerate plays that will partly be the key to whether or not you like it. I usually don?t like plays, as I find many of them boring even if they?re well acted. I usually like to see believable depictions of scenes, in real locations; and since plays are set on a stage, I know the depictions aren?t real, which can take away from the experience.
Dogville is set on a stage with an outline of a small town, with a white background (during the day, and a black background at night) surrounding the perimeters so you cannot see beyond the town. On this stage there are markings for homes and structures, but there are no literal homes or structures: you can see everything (inside and outside) that is going on at all times (the characters are always visible). You have to imagine the presence of the structures, along with props that the characters refer to.
And on this stage, nothing happens beyond character interactions. And in some ways the production reminded me of the traditional John Sayles film in that it simply involves characters talking about matters that I don?t care about. I was not a fan of Sayles? film, Sunshine State (I thought it was dreadfully slow), and Limbo, which wasn?t the type of film I wanted it to be.
We also have an ensemble cast depicting roles that aren?t meaty, and this is one of the most miscast films I?ve seen in recent time. I think Nicole Kidman is a good actress even though I haven?t liked some of her films (I probably liked her the best in Eyes Wide Shut), and I?m also a fan of Philip Baker Hall, Chloe Sevigny, Jeremy Davies, and Patricia Clarkson.
None of the mentioned names serve a special purpose in the film, and even Kidman ? the star of the vehicle ? fills a role that doesn?t demand much. Some critics are probably going to rave her performance for being brave and whatnot (there is a verbal/physical abuse element in the story involving her, which I didn?t make it far enough to witness), but from what I saw, I didn?t even care what was going to happen to anyone, including her. And you can blame me for being biased since I didn?t stay to see everyone?s performance to the very end, but I couldn?t stand the picture any longer.
If you?ve seen the trailer for Dogville, there?s probably a reason why Lions Gate decided to go for a split-screen effect there ? had they shown the stage in its entirety, moviegoers might get confused. And so unless filmgoers are informed of the feature?s play format through reviews, many will probably be caught a little off guard once the first shot of the movie is established.
I?ve seen Dancer in the Dark, which I liked, and segments of Breaking the Waves, which I am not a big fan of, but it seems like a decent picture. Dogville has a hand-held camera style much like Dancer and Waves, but the feature reminded me more of Breaking the Waves. While that film is a very well acted and directed picture, it failed to involve me emotionally; with Dogville, the acting?s not bad, but the story is not set up in such a fashion that wins over my support, and it continues to chug along in first gear.
The film mostly relies on you liking Nicole Kidman right from the start. Though I do admire her talent, I am not the kind of moviegoer who is delighted the first second I see her. And since the film moves along at a very slow pace with not a whole lot going on, activity and character breakdown wise, I never connected with her persona (nor with anyone else).
Dogville also relies on one?s imagination to make everything come to life. Kidman?s persona (Grace) stumbles into this town (entitled Dogville), running from the mob, and attempts to find refuge with the kind folks who reside there. You have to imagine Kidman?s past, as there aren?t any flashbacks (from the segment I saw) that visually tell us what happened previously.
Kidman?s character interacts with the town folk and helps them in various ways; as time passes, her price for staying there turns into a troubled manner, especially when she has a secret. The film tries to dive into a controversial discussion regarding the act of doing good and what Americans will resort to when they do not understand something that is different from the norm.
Dogville is a social commentary that brings up issues like immigration and foreign policy, indirectly; and within these situations, it can be easy to shrug your shoulders and simply say, ?I really don?t care.? These matters may be important to discuss, but with the limitations, including a straightforward (one location) set and a script that doesn?t require characters to do much, the context is just bland as hell ? and for even 80 minutes of its 180, torturous.
Dogville is three hours long, and the host of this program that I attend even mentioned in his introduction that the feature would likely result in walkouts. Not too long into the film, some people were already taking off (and more did over time), but considering that this theater holds close to 1000 people (and it was almost a full house on this evening), there were still a lot of people who were sticking it out to the end, or so it seemed.
The host couldn?t get Lars von Trier booked for the evening, as the director lives in Europe and refuses to fly anywhere. Next week they are showing The Alamo, which I don?t really want to see, but hopefully it?ll be better than Dogville, and that will be the next session I?ll be reporting on.
