Movie : Dancer in the Dark

Dancer in the Dark is the latest film from Danish director Lars von Trier, and is the first of his works I've seen. However, having now witnessed what he's capable of, I'm going to seek out everything he's made.

First of all, before I get into the review, you should be aware of several things: this film took the big prizes at last year's Cannes, but despite this fact, viewer opinions vary widely. Some hail it as a masterpiece of cinema, and others regard it as a music video on crack (much like The Cell). So, with this knowledge firmly in hand, and knowing that I am a typical viewer, let's go to my thoughts.

I have almost never been so perfectly manipulated by a piece of cinematic entertainment. I think the last time I bawled like this at a movie was The Fox and the Hound, and I was about seven then. Anything with Meg Ryan crying gets me close, but it takes a cartoon or a strange elfin-like actress to really turn me into a girlie-man cry-baby.

Now that you all know that I turned into a tear-stained fool, you need to know the reason. It's easily summed up in one word.

Bjork.

Bjork is absolutely raw and primal in this film, and I got the impression that she wasn't so much acting as evoking the character. I wonder how strictly the cast was forced to stick to dialogue, as the words that come out sometimes seem incredibly ridiculous, but true to life all at once. This elfin icelandic songstress's Selma is a woman from Czechoslovakia (this and the poodle skirts place the film sometime before the 1990's :)) who has come to America so that she may get surgery for her son, who is suffering from a sight-degenerating disease like his mother. Despite her very un-Czech accent, you believe every little thing that she does, including her lack of eyesight. Bjork sweeps you away from your seat and into Selma's world, which is where a few problems arise.

Von Trier's cinematography is of the Blair Witch Project variety - shaky hand-helds, varying degrees of focus, and sometimes just not comfortable framing of the action pops up throughout the course of the film. At certain points, you can see that he's trying to distort the world, much as Selma's vision is distorted, and at other times it just seems to be poor filmmaking.. Of course, I work in computers, so what the hell do I know?

Other problems I have regard the supporting cast - specifically David Morse and Cara Seymour as Bill and Linda, Selma's landlords and friends. I believe that David Morse is overused as a "troubled good guy gone bad", which colors my suspension of disbelief when he's on the screen. I really like him, but he just doesn't seem to fit here. Cara Seymour just wasn't convincing in her role at all, and failed to make much of an impact in the time she was on screen. Siobhan Fallon still gives me memories of the school bus lady in Forrest Gump, and her brief stint on SNL, but her character, Brenda, was a non-character, merely flesh fodder for Von Trier to bounce Bjork's emotional cannonballs off of.

That being said, Peter Stormare is rock solid as Jeff, almost making me forget his weird portrayal of a nihilist in The Big Lebowski and that Russian in Armageddon. Here he portrays a man who is as completely lost in Selma as the audience is. He falls prey to her madness and her naïveté. He is as blind, emotionally as Selma is physically. A really top-notch performance.

When you get down to it, this really is Bjork's movie. Her music grabs you right from the get-go, with a haunting overture, throughout the film (especially with the signature piece "I've Seen it All"), all the way to the disturbing denouement. This is a must own soundtrack that I will go pick up as soon as I get paid :) In fact, I will harangue Christopher Robin to go do the same and just review the soundtrack for us.

My suggestion is to wait for this movie on video, then buy it.. DVD would be amazing if it came with the soundtrack as extra tracks.. If you enjoy movies the way I do, where you get a thrill out of having emotions churned out of you, then see this film. If you were bored by a movie like Schindler's List, go rent a Pokemon film and bugger off..