Before reviewing a truly "theatrical" film, let me say that I love the theater, but also that I expect a higher standard in plot and script from the theater that I do from film. If a film is going to deliberately evoke the theater like this, it's going to be held to a theatrical standard.
As much as I like the idea of the super-simplistic sets and props used in this film -- at least as an intellectual exercise -- I found it to have been taken to such an extreme that it was distracting. Like most moviegoers I'm willing to suspend disbelief for a couple of hours, but this took it too far, much like some action movies that go beyond improbable stunts and effects to physically impossible stunts and effects. Even as I was engrossed in the plot and the predicament of Nicole Kidman's character I couldn't completely ignore all this.
Another flaw in this film is the excessive use of voice-over. Voice-over is used to convey information that for one reason or another is not conveyed through set and dialogue. Some of the voice-over in this movie is justified by the lack of information conveyed by the sets, but too much voice-over means there's something wrong with the sets (already discussed) or the script. I wasn't aware that Dogme allows the use of voice-over (an inherently unnatural and often obtrusive technique), but this film illustrates why a revisited Dogme (05?) should probably disallow it.
Having mentioned improbability, let's come back to that. I find it unlikely that an entire town of real people anywhere in America (or the world, for that matter) would behave in the coarse and cruel manner that these people did. I have no hesitation to criticize the coarseness, ignorance and insensitivity of American culture when I see it, but if this was indeed intended as a commentary specifically on America then it simply doesn't work. Does von Trier really think that people in Bangladesh or Slovenia -- or Denmark, for that matter -- are not equally capable of such cruel and insensitive behavior? I certainly hope that the hype about this movie's intent is wrong on this point.
The level on which this movie does work, however, is as a morality play about human nature in general. Despite the above criticisms, I really wanted to like this film, and found the story and acting compelling. It could have worked spectacularly if the set issues hadn't been so intrusive. 7/10.
So far I like the idea of Dogme, but this one's still too stagey and still too obviously an intellectual exercise. For a Dogme film in which the plot and characters are able to truly flourish within the confines of the genre (at least after the first 15 minutes) I heartily recommend "Italian for Beginners."
As much as I like the idea of the super-simplistic sets and props used in this film -- at least as an intellectual exercise -- I found it to have been taken to such an extreme that it was distracting. Like most moviegoers I'm willing to suspend disbelief for a couple of hours, but this took it too far, much like some action movies that go beyond improbable stunts and effects to physically impossible stunts and effects. Even as I was engrossed in the plot and the predicament of Nicole Kidman's character I couldn't completely ignore all this.
Another flaw in this film is the excessive use of voice-over. Voice-over is used to convey information that for one reason or another is not conveyed through set and dialogue. Some of the voice-over in this movie is justified by the lack of information conveyed by the sets, but too much voice-over means there's something wrong with the sets (already discussed) or the script. I wasn't aware that Dogme allows the use of voice-over (an inherently unnatural and often obtrusive technique), but this film illustrates why a revisited Dogme (05?) should probably disallow it.
Having mentioned improbability, let's come back to that. I find it unlikely that an entire town of real people anywhere in America (or the world, for that matter) would behave in the coarse and cruel manner that these people did. I have no hesitation to criticize the coarseness, ignorance and insensitivity of American culture when I see it, but if this was indeed intended as a commentary specifically on America then it simply doesn't work. Does von Trier really think that people in Bangladesh or Slovenia -- or Denmark, for that matter -- are not equally capable of such cruel and insensitive behavior? I certainly hope that the hype about this movie's intent is wrong on this point.
The level on which this movie does work, however, is as a morality play about human nature in general. Despite the above criticisms, I really wanted to like this film, and found the story and acting compelling. It could have worked spectacularly if the set issues hadn't been so intrusive. 7/10.
So far I like the idea of Dogme, but this one's still too stagey and still too obviously an intellectual exercise. For a Dogme film in which the plot and characters are able to truly flourish within the confines of the genre (at least after the first 15 minutes) I heartily recommend "Italian for Beginners."