Dogville

I love Lars Von Trier movies. Dancer in the Dark was as devastating as it was brilliant. Dogville, the first of a trilogy (P2, Manderlay was at the Toronto Film Fest this week), is very impressive - both from a technical standpoint and as a scathing look at America (not just humanity, as many American reviewers see it). As in the Simpsons, the mob rules. People alone are basically good - it's when they get together when everything goes horribly wrong.

There are many reasons to dislike this movie: the minimalist theatre-like sets, the 3-hour run time and for some, Nicole Kidman (just to name three). Many think the set is very distracting and that Von Trier is being arty for the sake of it. Not at all - everything is there (or not there) with much purpose. The 177 minutes went by quickly. Nicole Kidman was excellent. The rest of the cast was great, too - Paul Bettany, Patricia Clarkson, Chloe Sevigny, Lauren Bacall, etc. etc..

I don't want to go into details about the plot and so forth but I will say that Dogville is one of those films that continues to play out in your head long after the movie is over. I can't believe it took me so long to finally view it and I eagerly await Manderlay, with Bryce Dallas Howard (The Village) in the role of Grace, and then much later, Washington - purportedly with both Kidman and Howard playing the role.