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Tell Others About This Page By Using This Button "DOGVILLE" (2004) (Nicole Kidman, Paul Bettany) (R) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Minor Moderate Extreme Moderate Heavy Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Minor None None Minor Mild Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Heavy Mild Moderate Moderate Extreme QUICK TAKE: Drama: A stranger on the run from Depression-era gangsters soon discovers that the residents of a small Rocky Mountain hamlet who took her in are now slowly but surely turning on her. PLOT: Dogville is a tiny, Depression-era hamlet in the Rocky Mountains. Life is simple but hard there where few people visit due to it small size and the fact that is exists at the end of a dead end road. Thus, when a stranger arrives in the form of Grace (NICOLE KIDMAN), she quickly draws everyone's attention, including that of the town's unofficial leader, Tom Edison Jr. (PAUL BETTANY). An aspiring writer who lives with his retired physician father, Tom Edison Sr. (PHILIP BAKER HALL), and enjoys playing checkers with the mentally slow Bill Henson (JEREMY DAVIES), Tom convinces his fellow townsfolk that they should allow Grace, who's reported to be a fugitive from gangsters, to stay with them. They agree, but only on the condition that she has two weeks for everyone to get to know and like her. As such, she begins to offer her help to the likes of general store workers Ma Ginger (LAUREN BACALL) and Gloria (HARRIET ANDERSSON); the Hensons (BLAIR BROWN & BILL RAYMOND) who polish and resell glass, and orchard worker Chuck (STELLAN SKARSGÄRD) who's unhappily married to Vera (PATRICIA CLARKSON) with whom he has many kids. There's Jack McKay (BEN GAZZARA) who won't admit or accept that he's blind; Ben (ŽELJKO IVANEK) who claims to work in the freight industry; Martha (SIOBHAN FALLON HOGAN) who runs the mission house, and the town's only black residents, Olivia (CLEO KING) and her handicapped daughter, June (SHAUNA SHIM). Finally, there's Liz Henson (CHLOË SEVIGNY) who's just happy to have Grace around to divert the men's stares away from her. It isn't long before Grace is accepted into the town and is working odd jobs for everyone. Yet, after repeated appearances by various people looking for her, the townsfolk slowly but surely begin wanting more for her in exchange for them hiding her. From that point, and as the demands become more arduous, mean and dangerous, Grace must figure out what to do about the sudden change in the town's demeanor, all as she hopes to keep hiding from the gangster (JAMES CAAN) who's after her. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? The impressive cast might be enticing for fans, but this film doesn't otherwise seem too attractive to any but older and curious teen viewers. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R For violence and sexual content. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: NICOLE KIDMAN plays a woman on the run who wanders into Dogville and then suffers the various indignities presented to her by the townsfolk after they decide to turn on her. PAUL BETTANY plays the town's unofficial leader and aspiring writer who convinces the others to allow Grace to join them, not only because he thinks it's the right thing to do, but also because he's attracted to her. LAUREN BACALL plays the owner of the general store who initially likes and gives Grace a job, but then turns on her like the others. STELLAN SKARSGÄRD plays the local orchard worker who's unhappily married, smokes and is the only one who doesn't warm up to Grace. He eventually rapes her. PATRICIA CLARKSON plays his wife, a mother of many kids who employs Grace as a babysitter, but turns on her later in the film. CHLOË SEVIGNY plays a young woman who's only happy to see Grace since it means the men's lecherous stares will finally be diverted away from her. CLEO KING plays one of the town's few black residents who employs Grace to take care of her handicapped daughter played by SHAUNA SHIM. BEN GAZZARA plays one of the town's older residents who won't admit or accept that he's blind and slowly but surely starts to come on to Grace when she's in his company. BLAIR BROWN and BILL RAYMOND play residents who polish and resell glass to others. ZELJKO IVANEK plays a townie who claims to be in the freight business. Known as a frequent visitor to the local brothel, he also forces Grace to have sex with him in exchange for helping her try to escape. SIOBHAN FALLON HOGAN plays the single, middle-aged woman who runs the town's mission. JEREMY DAVIES plays Tom's somewhat dimwitted friend with whom he plays checkers. PHILIP BAKER HALL plays Tom's father, a retired physician who's becoming something of a hypochondriac. JAMES CAAN plays the gangster who's looking for Grace after trying to have her killed. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: The following is a brief summary of the content found in this R-rated drama. Profanity consists of a handful of expletives, while some colorful phrases and sexually related dialogue are also uttered. Several rapes are seen (with views of a man's butt between the woman's legs), while another man wants to have sex with a woman and is on top of her (both are clothed). Other violence includes gangsters shooting many people dead, but in a non-realistic, stage-play sort of fashion (no blood). Those scenes and others, including some presumably real photographs during the closing credits that show murdered people, may be unsettling to some viewers. Various characters have varying degrees of bad attitudes (and some viewers might not like the film and its symbolic attack on American culture), while some tense family material is present. Some alcohol and related comments are present, while one character smokes a few times. Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to look more closely at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. For those prone to motion sickness, the film does have some bouncy/shaky camera work from time to time. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE We hear that Ben drinks. Various townspeople appear to have wine and/or beer with their 4th of July meal. The narrator makes a comment about "even if he was drunk when he said so" about Ben telling Grace she doesn't need to work double for him. During the end credits, we see photos of liquor bottles and one person drinking. BLOOD/GORE We see Grace helping June to a toilet chair, but don't see any related activity. We see a urine stain on June's bed sheets. During the end credits, we see photos of some murdered people, including one with blood on them and the pavement around them. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE The townspeople eventually turn -- individually and then collectively -- on Grace. Some may view Olivia as being a stereotypical caricature of a Depression-era African-American woman. Chuck is standoffish toward Grace. Liz states that she only voted for Grace to stay in Dogville to get the men's eyes off her and onto Grace. Ma Ginger gets mad at Grace for taking a shortcut through some bushes that everyone else is entitled to take. Grace reminds Chuck (who's married) that he tried to kiss her (when saying why she doesn't like him). Chuck tells Grace that he thought of turning her in and blackmailing her to make her respect him. He then says that he yearns to be closer to her and to touch her. One of Vera's boys, Jason, is defiant toward Grace because she won't let him sit on her lap all of the time like he wants. He then says that he'll tell his mother that Grace hit him if she won't spank him like he wants (she finally spanks him, but only briefly). Chuck comes on to Grace (who's uncomfortable with that) and puts his hand on the side of her clothed breast. He then tries to kiss her, gets her on the floor, puts his hand between her legs and then rapes her. To teach Grace a lesson, Vera purposefully breaks some of her beloved figurines and says that if she cries (which she does), she'll break more of them. Ben agrees to smuggle Grace out of the town, but along the way he indicates there will be a surcharge in addition to what she's already paid. He then says that he was planning on visiting a prostitute that night, implying that's how he wants Grace to pay. We then see the movement of his hand undoing his pants as he climbs on top of her in the back of his truck. As she lies there with a blank look on her face, he has sex with her (with movement and related sounds). Bill fashions a bell and restraining device on Grace that will prevent her from escaping (and causes her to drag a very heavy wheel around town with her). Tom admits that he told the town that Grace stole his father's money when in fact he did so. We see Jack sitting next to Grace with his hand positioned on her inner thigh while seated next to her. We hear that all of the men in town then came to Grace for sex (we see one on top of her with movement) and that the kids took to ringing the mission bell for each time that occurred (we see them doing that). We then hear that they justified such actions not as sex, but as comparable to a hillbilly "visiting" a cow. A person orders that various people be killed, including children to spite a mother. FRIGHTENING SCENES Scenes listed under "Violence" might also be tense or unsettling for some viewers. A police car drives up and Grace hides. The police arrive again and Grace once again hides. Chuck comes on to Grace (who's uncomfortable with that) and puts his hand on the side of her clothed breast. He then tries to kiss her, gets her on the floor, puts his hand between her legs and then rapes her. We see several views (up close and from a distance) of his bare butt (while raping her on the floor). GUNS/WEAPONS Handguns/Tommy guns: Carried and/or used to shoot and kill various people. We hear sounds of distant gunfire (and later hear it was someone shooting at Grace). During the end credits, we see photos of guns. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "Whore house," "As long as you damn please," "It's your own damn fault," "Idiot kid," "I'll be damned" and "Shut the hell up." JUMP SCENES None. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) None. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) A song has the word "damn" in it. PROFANITY At least 6 damns, 2 hells and 1 use of "My God." SEX/NUDITY The narrator talks of Liz and her luscious curves and seductive abyss (regarding her affect on young men such as Tom). Liz jokingly tells Tom that one day she'll be gone and he'll have to find another girl whose skirt he can look up. We hear that Ben drinks and visits a "whorehouse" once a month and is embarrassed about that. There's talk of someone named Miss Laura, and Grace tells Ben that those women (hookers) bring joy to lots of men. Liz states that she only voted for Grace to stay in Dogville to get the men's eyes off her and onto Grace. Tom says that his desire for Grace is of a purely physical nature. Chuck comes on to Grace (who's uncomfortable with that) and puts his hand on the side of her clothed breast. He then tries to kiss her, gets her on the floor, puts his hand between her legs and then rapes her. We see several views (up close and from a distance) of his bare butt (while raping her on the floor and then standing afterwards). Vera sarcastically tells Grace that maybe she should sleep at night (rather than her implication of Grace fooling around with Tom). We see Jack (who's blind) sitting next to Grace with his hand on her leg. It's implied that Chuck again rapes (or just has sex with) Grace as we see him adjusting his clothes afterwards. Vera talks of eroticism regarding Chuck's orchard when implying that Martha saw Grace and Chuck having sex there. Grace shows some cleavage. We see Tom and Grace "spooning" in bed (both are clothed). Ben agrees to smuggle Grace out of the town, but along the way he indicates there will be a surcharge in addition to what she's already paid. He then says that he was planning on visiting a prostitute that night, implying that's how he wants Grace to pay. We then see the movement of his hand undoing his pants as he climbs on top of her in the back of his truck. As she lies there with a blank look on her face, he has sex with her (with movement and related sounds). We see Jack sitting next to Grace with his hand positioned on her inner thigh while seated next to her. We hear that all of the men in town then came to Grace for sex (we see one on top of her with movement) and that the kids took to ringing the mission bell for each time that occurred (we see them doing that). We then hear that they justified such actions not as sex, but as comparable to a hillbilly "visiting" a cow. We see a shot of Chuck sitting on the bed with his pants down (nothing explicit seen) as well as a montage of men leaving Grace's place. We see Tom on top of Grace on a bed. Both are clothed and he says that it's the time they've been waiting for. He kisses her and does some clothed humping between her legs with some heavy breathing. She says that it's easy to make love now, but that it's completely wrong in terms of their love. He then complains that he's done a lot for her and that everyone in the town has had her body except him. She then says that he can have her if he wants but tells him to do what everyone else does (and that's threaten her). He doesn't and nothing else sexual occurs, but Grace does ask if he wanted to join in with the others in using her for sex. During the end credits, we see a photo of two people in some sort of embrace (with bare skin, but we can't tell what they're doing). SMOKING Chuck smokes a few times. During the end credits, we see photos of people with cigarettes. TENSE FAMILY SCENES Grace says that she has no family and that the gangsters took her father away. We hear that Chuck and Vera (husband and wife) hate each other. Vera pushes Grace several times after learning she's having sex with Chuck. We learn that Grace has a strained relationship with her father who even tried to shoot her earlier. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT The film's symbolism and view of America and Americans. Jack denies that he's blind. Rape and Grace not wanting Tom to do anything about Chuck raping her. The townspeople eventually turn -- individually and then collectively -- on Grace. During the end credits, we see photos of various bad social issues in America (poverty, crime, etc.). VIOLENCE Chuck comes on to Grace (who's uncomfortable with that) and puts his hand on the side of her clothed breast. He then tries to kiss her, gets her on the floor, puts his hand between her legs and then rapes her. It's implied that Chuck again rapes (or just has sex with) Grace as we see him adjusting his clothes afterwards. Vera pushes Grace several times after learning she's having sex with Chuck. To teach Grace a lesson, Vera purposefully breaks some of her beloved figurines and says that if she cries (which she does), she'll break more of them. Olivia whacks Grace for missing her chores. Ben agrees to smuggle Grace out of the town, but along the way he indicates there will be a surcharge in addition to what she's already paid. He then says that he was planning on visiting a prostitute that night, implying that's how he wants Grace to pay. We then see the movement of his hand undoing his pants as he climbs on top of her in the back of his truck. As she lies there with a blank look on her face, he has sex with her (with movement and related sounds). A gangster pushes Tom and another manhandles Billy. Gangsters open fire on people (including an infant) with handguns and machine guns, causing them to panic and fall to the ground (wounded or dead, but we don't see any impact or blood as it's all done symbolically on the stage -- although we're supposed to take it for reality). A woman holds a handgun to a man's head and pulls the trigger, killing him (no impact and no blood, just him falling to the stage). Although we don't see the actual act (and it's all done symbolically anyway), gangsters burn down a town. During the end credits, we see photos of some presumably real and murdered people, including one with blood on them and the pavement around them. Reviewed March 22, 2004 / Posted April 9, 2004

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