| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Nicole Kidman | ... | ||
| Harriet Andersson | ... |
Gloria
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| Lauren Bacall | ... | ||
| Jean-Marc Barr | ... |
The Man with the Big Hat
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| Paul Bettany | ... | ||
| Blair Brown | ... |
Mrs. Henson
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| James Caan | ... | ||
| Patricia Clarkson | ... | ||
| Jeremy Davies | ... |
Bill Henson
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| Ben Gazzara | ... |
Jack McKay
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| Philip Baker Hall | ... |
Tom Edison Sr.
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| Thom Hoffman | ... |
Gangster
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| Siobhan Fallon Hogan | ... | ||
| John Hurt | ... |
Narrator
(voice)
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| Zeljko Ivanek | ... |
Ben
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Late one night, a beautiful and well-dressed young woman, Grace, arrives in the mountainous old mining town of Dogville as a fugitive; following the sound of gunshots in the distance which have been heard by Tom, the self-appointed moral spokesman for the town. Persuaded by Tom, the town agree to hide Grace, and in return she freely helps the locals. However, when the Sheriff from a neighbouring town posts a Missing notice, advertising a reward for revealing her whereabouts, the townsfolk require a better deal from Grace, in return for their silence; and when the Sheriff returns some weeks later with a Wanted poster, even though the citizens know her to be innocent of the false charges against her, the town's sense of goodness takes a sinister turn and the price of Grace's freedom becomes a workload and treatment akin to that of a slave. But Grace has a deadly secret that the townsfolk will eventually encounter. Written by Neil Hillman.
Tough. Once again Lars von Trier tortures the audience (as he did previously on Dancer in the Dark) by upraising the darkest side of the human being. From the beginning you know that things can only get worse, but I doubt that one can figure out neither what's to come nor the powerful conclusion. Nicole Kidman's interpretation is perfect - intense, poignant, passionate, you name it. She is fantastic and so is the small cast locked inside Dogville's scenario (a wonderful creation - I wonder how something so simple can bring such a strong effect). Again, the entire cast is fantastic and for that goes an extra credit for Lars von Trier. His capability of pushing actors to the limit and extracting painful emotions from them creates a heavy atmosphere, full of tension and, at the same time, so familiar. It is not that Dogville represents the essence of our communities, but it exposes some aspects of our lives that we prefer to hide under the carpet.