Day of the 'Dog: "Dogville"

Honest, I didn't choose Dogville just because of the title - it really is an underdog. Even with a smokin' IMDb score of 7.9 and winning mad lower-vis awards, just ask yourself: "Have I seen it." Unlikely.

What you'll first notice in the film is the complete lack of a set. This is not like in Kill Bill where it will suddenly go from black and white back to good 'ole color; No, there really isn't a set.

However, this demands a completely different level of imagination, and - while it might seem a little funky at first - your brain will align with it and soon you'll begin to see walls and furniture and windows. Or, if you have no imagination, just go with it...and then work on that imagination thing in your spare time.

Why is deserves 'dog status: Well, Dogville's lackluster success might be due to the immediate expectations of exotic sets, larger-than-life heroes, and lots of stuff blowing up, but it's really no surprise that a film without a set flew under the radar. What some would call inventive, others will claim is "low-budget" or "boring," though that kind of implies big-budget, action-packed blockbusters like Hulk are automatically good, and I think we all know better than that.

In essence, Dogville encapsulates a sort of Lord of the Flies type of society where each transgression enables someone else to react in kind and even push the moral envelope further in a nefarious direction. Thing is, this is not an island full of children, but a small town full of adults. At heart, the film implies that any weakness can and will be exploited if given enough time.

The voice over is immaculate, with poetic lines such as: "...respect for cultivation, harvest, and fruit could be directly measured in provision of carnality." Man, that's like something a founding father might have said.

The use of light also did a lot to communicate the decline of the town, along with sparse props, sound, and pregnant pauses in the music.

While not exactly a film about tea and crumpets (Chloë Sevigny is an even bigger sadist than in Big Love), Dogville deserves crazy props for its innovations, is sure to entertain, and might even make you consider the ever-lurking shady side in all of us.