Dogville, Nicole Kidman's Best Movie by Far

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Dogville, a 2003 movie, starring Nicole Kidman and featuring James Caan and Lauren Bacall, is an undiscovered masterpiece in the art of real storytelling. There are no special effects, no big budget sets, and in fact, it seems to take pride in its minimalist scenery. Most of the set is made up of white lines on the ground that resemble walls, and a few small pieces of furniture. But all of that is quickly forgotten as the story wakes its many twists and turns, eveolving so slowly over the course of its three hours that you barely notice when things go from good to bad to worse.

In the beginning, Grace, played by Kidman, arrives in Dogville, a small, isolated town feeling the effects of the Great Depression, and sees a noble little place, full of nice, caring strangers who want to help her to hide from the gangsters who are chasing her. And that's what it looks like to the audience as well, though there are a few foreshadowed mentions of a more sinister side to Dogville, lurking below the surface.

In each of the nine chapters of the film, the townspeople start to show their true natures, and the trusting Grace is treated increasingly worse, until the movie gets to a very dark place, exposing the nature of humanity's response to anyone who is trusting and vulnerable. Grace's natural desire to do things for those who are helping her is first met with joy and appreciation, which gradually takes a turn until she is exploited and undervalued, becoming a virtual slave to the townsfolk. And then it gets still worse, until she sees Dogville as a prison that sh emust escape from.

The one bright point at the end seems to be her ability to take her revenge upon the town, but that gradually increases as well, until she treats them no better than they treated her, and in fact, even worse. In Dogville, no one is quite what they seem, and everyone, eventually lets their true nature be known.

Despite the dark nature of the film, it is an excellent study of character, and a frame of reference for any human relationship that involves dependence. Dependence, even from the nicest of people, is eventually exploited. Workers, even when valuable, are eventually taken for granted. And, nice people who are given power often wield it in the worst ways.