Master misogynist Lars von Trier continues his Dogme revolution with Dogville, a tale of the darker aspects of the American dream. "The time to make up your mind about someone is never" remarks Katherine Hepburn in The Philadelphia Story, a statement taken to heart by von Trier and his Dogme partner Peter Jenson. Dogme films concentrate on script and acting rather than relying on big budget sets and special effects like most of the films produced in recent years. To this end, the town of Dogville is nothing more than a chalk outline on a dark sound stage with as few buildings and props as can be managed. The sparse scenery and chalk outlines of buildings, plants and animals are at first distractingly amusing but once the comedy value of such a highly regarded group of actors putting so much effort into the use of invisible door knobs has passed, the setting actually serves to enhance the bleak lives of the characters.
The story takes place during the Great Depression and is about Grace (played by Nicole Kidman), who takes refuge from a group of gangsters in the small Godforsaken town of about 25 people, including children, named Dogville. Grace is met by the towns highly irritating intellectual Tomas Edison (Paul Bettany) who hides her in an abandoned mine shaft when the mobsters come looking for her and, seeing her predicament, agrees to convince the townspeople that Grace should be allowed to remain hidden in Dogville. An agreement is reached whereby Grace is given two weeks in which the townspeople will decide whether she should stay or seek sanctuary elsewhere. During this time, Grace is to do chores of one hour per each household per day which Tomas describes as "physical labours" (great big neon sign indicating things to come). The people initially appear friendly and accept Grace, soon realising that they can"t live without her help. Needless to say, the citizens vote for her to stay and live in their town while doing all their dirty work. Things seem to be ideal but this soon deteriorates as Grace is increasingly used as a scapegoat for all the wrongdoings of the town.
Von Trier is famed for his unconventional and demanding methods of working with actors (he allegedly drove Bjork to the stage where she was eating her costume while filming The Dancer In The Dark) but, however he did it, the performances in Dogville prove to be some of the finest acting on film in recent years. Nicole Kidman continues her mission to be taken seriously as a performer with her fabulous portrayal of the enigmatic Grace (and she needs no prosthetic appendages to do so). She captures wonderfully Grace"s decent from hopeful outsider to accepted and useful member of the community to someone so damaged by the actions of others that she seemingly has no fight left. Paul Bettany is equally good as Tomas, a pretentious man more deserving of physical violence than any of the other hypocritical characters in the film. The entire cast excel with their complex roles as the detestable townsfolk, with special mention being deserved for Miles Purinton as Jason, the ten year old boy with the fondness for sadomasochism. John Hurt is the narrator who guides the action and provides some of the more subtle comic moments.

Premiering at the 2003 Cannes film festival and going on to win best director for Lars Von Trier at the European film awards, Dogville (As with many of Von Trier's films) split the critics quite clearly.It tells the story of Grace (Nicole Kidman) who, on the run from the mob, comes upon a small town, who agrees to hide her-in exchange for some simple chores. However, as the townsfolk of the epinomynous 'Dogville' begin to get used to the power they have over Grace, things soon get out of control, and Grace's human rights are steadily taken from her. Dogville was filmed using Von Trier's own Dogme '95 manifesto (Search the google) and was filmed over 4 intensive weeks on a soundstage with buildings, non-essential props and rooms drawn in chalk on the ground-therefore stripping the material down to its bones-which relies mainly on the actor's ability to perform. And boy do they deliver. Kidman, gives in my opinion, to date, her best performance- a subtle and underplayed character with many complex underlying idiosyncrasies. Added to this, a truly amazing ensemble cast and a beautiful, but simple score-Dogville is a must for fans of Von Trier, but also for fans of some heavy-weight acting. The dvd also has a revealing extra as, throughout the filming period, Von Trier demanded that the actors at the end of each working day, 'confess' to a big-brother style diary room camera-which provides a fascinating insight into the workings of such a production.This film is quite simply, intriguing in conception, but also breathtaking and intense in its delivery. Look out for follow-up film 'Manderlay'due later this year.