Dogville is a 2003 experimental arthouse drama film written and directed by Lars von Trier. It features an ensemble cast led by Nicole Kidman, Lauren Bacall, Paul Bettany, Chloë Sevigny, Stellan Skarsgård, Udo Kier, Ben Gazzara, Patricia Clarkson, Harriet Andersson, and James Caan, with John Hurt as the narrator. The film employs an extremely minimal, stage-like set to tell the story of Grace Mulligan (Kidman), a woman on the run from mobsters who finds refuge in the tiny mountain town of Dogville, Colorado, in exchange for physical labor.
The film is the first installment in Trier's incomplete USA: Land of Opportunities trilogy. It was followed by Manderlay (2005), though the intended third part, Washington, was never produced. Dogville premiered in the main competition at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival. After screenings at various film festivals, it received a limited release in the US on 26 March 2004.
Dogville received highly polarized reviews from critics upon its release. While some deemed it pretentious, self-absorbed or exasperating, others hailed it as a work of art, spectacular or masterpiece. Over time, the film has grown in stature and was included in the 2016 BBC poll of the greatest films since 2000. Filmmakers such as Quentin Tarantino and Denis Villeneuve have praised the film.
Plot
PROLOGUE (which introduces us to the town and its residents)
Set in the isolated Rocky Mountain town of Dogville, near an abandoned silver mine, the film opens with a narrator introducing its 15 residents. Through the perspective of Tom Edison Jr. (Paul Bettany), an idealistic philosopher who organizes meetings on "moral rearmament," the townsfolk are depicted as quaint but flawed. Tom aspires to replace his elderly physician father as the community's moral leader.
Chapter ONE In which Tom hears gunfire and meets Grace
Tom encounters Grace Mulligan (Nicole Kidman), a fugitive fleeing gangsters. After hiding her in the mine, he convinces her to stay, arguing the mountains are impassable. When gangsters arrive searching for Grace, Tom lies about her whereabouts and receives a business card after being told of a big reward for finding Grace. At a town meeting, Tom proposes sheltering Grace as a test of their morality. The skeptical residents agree to a two-week trial, during which Grace must earn their trust.
Chapter TWO In which Grace follows Tom's plan and embarks upon physical labour
Grace approaches the townspeople, but they refrain from the interaction. Grace and Tom convene at the town's shop at the end of the unsuccessful day, and Tom suggests Grace help out the shopkeeper with work she would like done but is not necessary. They settled on weeding the gooseberry bushes by the bench. One chore led to another; Grace begins helping the townspeople: comforting blind recluse Jack McKay by becoming his conversation partner, babysitting for Chuck and Vera, assisting shopkeeper Ma Ginger, providing Ben with food and a sense of domesticity, helping handicapped Olivier to the toilet, and turning the page for Martha when she practices on the organ. Her willingness to help softens initial reluctance, and she gradually integrates into Dogville. Chuck has the most resistance to Grace, which Grace discovered is due to them having similar backgrounds of leaving the town and finding themselves in Dogville.
Chapter THREE In which Grace indulges in a shady piece of provocation
Grace bonds with Jack, who pretends to see. She tricks him into admitting his blindness, earning his respect. After the trial period during the vote, Grace is packing her baggage. She discovered that even though she may not have fully convinced all the townspeople, she certainly has friends who secretly left maps, bread, knives, and other trinkets required for escaping Dogville in her luggage. The town votes unanimously to let her stay.
Chapter FOUR "Happy times in Dogville"
Grace continues her work, helping the townfolks, saving wages to buy porcelain Hummel figurines from Ma Ginger. Weeks past and she triumphantly moves into the town's abandoned mill, restored by Tom and Ben. Tensions rise when police post a "Missing" notice with Grace's name. Though divided on cooperating, the town opts to protect her, as the notice did only mention she is missing without other information.
Chapter FIVE "Fourth of July after all"
During Fourth of July celebrations, Tom confesses his love for Grace, and she reciprocated warmly. The mood sours when police replace the notice with a "Wanted" poster, accusing Grace of bank robbery where the time of the crime does not match. The town insists she's innocent but demands more labor as a . Reluctantly, Grace agrees. Grace visits the townfolks twice a day and has a symbolic pay cut.
Chapter SIX In which Dogville bares its teeth
Grace's expanded workload strains relations. Mistakes invite scorn: men sexually harass her, women grow abusive, and Vera's son Jason manipulates Grace into spanking him. The abuse culminates in Chuck threatening and raping Grace when the FBI visits Dogville.
Chapter SEVEN In which Grace finally gets enough of Dogville, leaves the town, and again sees the light of day
Grace confides in Tom, who decides to plan her escape. Vera found out about the spanking, while Martha exposed Chuck's assault to Vera. Angered, Vera smashes Grace's figurines, mocking her Stoic teachings. Tom's plan is for trucker Ben to smuggle Grace out, and he has borrowed his father's money to pay Ben. Ben, instead, rapes Grace and returns her to Dogville. Blamed for Tom's theft of his father's money, Grace is enslaved, chained, raped, and tormented by the town, including the children, who mock her suffering by ringing the church bells every time she is raped.
Chapter EIGHT In which there is a meeting where the truth is told and Tom leaves (only to return later)
At a town meeting, Grace details her abuse, prompting residents to vote to remove her from the town. But there is a problem with her spreading the ill-being of Dogville; they wanted Tom to think of a better solution. Tom, feigning loyalty, attempts to sleep with her but is rebuffed. Realizing his hypocrisy, he betrays Grace by retrieving the reward card and calling her pursuers. Resigned, Grace mutters, "Nobody's gonna sleep here"—echoing Pirate Jenny's vengeance anthem.
Chapter NINE In which Dogville receives the long-awaited visit and the film ends
The gangsters arrive, led by Grace's father. Revealed as a mob boss's daughter, Grace initially resists his harsh worldview but, after introspection, condemns Dogville. She orders the town's annihilation: Vera must watch her children die unless she stifles tears, echoing her own torment. Dogville is razed, its residents massacred. Tom, applauding Grace's "illustration" is executed by her. Only the dog Moses—whose bone Grace once took—is spared.
The credits roll over Jacob Holdt's stark photos of American poverty, set to "Young Americans" by David Bowie.
Cast
Pilot Dogville: The Pilot was shot during 2001 in the pre-production phase to test whether the concept of chalk lines and sparse scenery would work. The 15-minute pilot film starred Danish actors Sidse Babett Knudsen (as Grace) and Nikolaj Lie Kaas (as Tom). Eventually Lars von Trier was happy with the overall results. Thus, he and the producers decided to move forward with the production of the feature film. The test pilot was never shown in public, but is featured on the second disc of the Dogville (2003) DVD, released in November 2003.Dogville: The Pilot. (from Dogville DVD, disc 2). 2003.
Staging
The story of Dogville is narrated by John Hurt in nine chapters and takes place on a stage with minimalist scenery. Some walls and furniture are placed on the stage, but the rest of the scenery exists merely as white painted outlines which have big labels on them; for example, the outlines of gooseberry bushes have the text "Gooseberry Bushes" written next to them. While this form of staging is common in black box theaters, it has rarely been attempted on film before—the Western musical Red Garters (1954) and Vanya on 42nd Street (1994) being notable exceptions. The bare staging serves to focus the audience's attention on the acting and storytelling, and also reminds them of the film's artificiality. As such it is heavily influenced by the theatre of Bertolt Brecht. (There are also similarities between the song "Seeräuberjenny" ("Pirate Jenny") in Brecht and Kurt Weill's Die Dreigroschenoper (The Threepenny Opera) and the story of Dogville. Chico Buarque's version of this song, "Geni e o Zepelim" [Geni and the Zeppelin], deals with the more erotic aspects of abjection and bears striking similarity to Trier's cinematic homage to the song.) The film used carefully designed lighting to suggest natural effects such as the moving shadows of clouds, and sound effects are used to create the presence of non-existent set pieces (e.g., there are no doors, but the doors can always be heard when an actor "opens" or "closes" one).
The film was shot on high-definition video using a Sony HDW-F900 camera in a studio in Trollhättan, Sweden.
Interpretations According to Trier, the point of the film is that "evil can arise anywhere, as long as the situation is right".
Film review show At the Movies with Ebert & Roeper criticized Dogville as having a strongly anti-American message, citing, for example, the closing credits sequence with images of poverty-stricken Americans which were taken from Jacob Holdt's documentary book American Pictures (1984), and accompanied by David Bowie's song "Young Americans".
Reception Critical response Dogville polarised critics upon its United States theatrical release, with Metacritic giving it a score of 61 ("Generally favourable reviews") and the Rotten Tomatoes critics' consensus for it stating simply, "A challenging piece of experimental filmmaking." 70% of critics gave the film a positive review, with an average score of 7/10, based on 168 reviews. Many hailed it as an innovative and powerful artistic statement, while others considered it to be an emotionally detached or even misanthropic work. In The Village Voice, J. Hoberman wrote, "For passion, originality, and sustained chutzpah, this austere allegory of failed Christian charity and Old Testament payback is von Trier's strongest movie—a masterpiece, in fact." Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave the film 3.5/4 stars, praising Kidman's performance and dubbing it "a movie that never met a cliche it didn't stomp on." Scott Foundas of LA Weekly described it as a work of "boldness, cutting insight, [and] intermittent hilarity", and interpreted it as "a potent parable of human suffering." In Empire, Alan Morrison wrote that "Dogville, in a didactic and politicised stage tradition, is a great play that shows a deep understanding of human beings as they really are."