DANCER IN THE DARK
"Dancer in the Dark"!
I loved it! I hated it! It’s brilliant! It’s pretentious! It’s…It’s…It’s exasperating! For every other gripping scene, there is an equally laughable one. And I’m not talking about the compelling fantasy dance numbers that crop up in the fertile imagination of Selma (Bjork) , an immigrant who is saving her meager earnings from a factory job for an operation to save her son from the same genetic disease that is slowly stealing her sight.
Selma loves musicals! Whenever she is in the doldrums, she escapes to a world interpreted through song and dance where she is the star, the choreographer, and the director. She controls all the elements. The thud of a drill press, the whistle of a steam engine, and the gavel of a judge become parts of percussive preludes that build to a driving rythymn that are enhanced by a mesmerizing musical score and the haunting quality of the star’s voice. Selma’s dreams are islands of happiness in a sea of misery. The shots are composed of polarized bright grainy colors and dispense with the dizzying effect of graceless pans, jump cuts, and quirky editing that characterize Selma’s waking hours. This was a novel idea back in the era of "Breathless." Now it just makes me feel sea sick. It worked for the movie’s writer/director, Lars Von Trier, for "Breaking the Waves," but he at least had the allusion to a the sea in that title.
Selma, like Bess before her in "Breaking the Waves," is a martyr. She scrimps and saves, squirreling her money away in a tin box. Her cash is stolen (you see it coming a mile away) but she gets it back at the cost of a life. She is ultimately willing to die rather than reveal the whereabouts of the hard earned greenbacks she has secured for her son’s welfare. Near death, she still escapes to her imaginary musical world. Selma becomes, with some unintended humor, the Dead Dancer in the Dark Walking. Yet, the inevitable death scene is riveting. It almost makes up for Von Trier’s shortsighted vision of the American judicial system. The courtroom scenes, except for another escape into a musical daydream, jump cuts the proceedings destroying all sense of logic in an attempt to guarantee the movie’s pre-ordained sense of tragedy. After a few guffaws and head shaking, I was propelled back into the dark mood of the movie by Siobhan Fallon’s heartfelt presence as a sensitive prison guard sympathetic to Selma. As Brenda, she becomes the movie’s unheralded conscience.
At best, "Dancer in the Dark" is a mixed bag. There are some amazing performances by Bjork as Selma, Peter Stomare as her lovesick suitor and, as I mentioned, Siobhan Fallon. Von Trier alumni Udo Kier (from "Andy Warhaol’s Dracula") and Stellam Skarsgard ("Good Will Hunting") make dutiful cameos, but Joel Grey steals the spotlight as a hoofer hero idolized by Selma. Catherine Deneuve plays Selma’s best friend, Kathy. The only reason I know this is because they say it in the movie. Deneuve looks lost. I never believed she was a factory worker for a moment. Likewise, many scenes have the contrived quality of an actor’s improv that has gone on too long, especially the ones with David Morse. He plays the local good cop gone bad. Morse has done bad guys to perfection before, but this time the director should have known when to yell, "Cut!"
But Oh! Those dance numbers! Hollywood, may have inspired them but they serve to filter Selma’s view of her environment. Not even the cast of a campy amateur production of "The Sound of Music" can escape from Selma’s imagination. It’s a shame that the weaker moments in "Dancer in the Dark" were not as well thought out.
An obvious video pick with people breaking into song under the worst of conditions.
"Pennies From Heaven" (1981) - Herb Ross directed Dennis Potter’s own adaptation of his British mini-series (that starred Bob Hoskins) about a sheet music salesman who fancies himself a crooner during the Depression. Everyone breaks out into song and dance numbers of the period. The highlight is a rousing dance routine with Christopher Walken. With Steve Martin and Bernadette Peters.
A couple of films from Lars Von Trier
"Breaking the Waves" (1996) - Emily Watson became an overnight sensation as the simple Scottish waif who prostitutes herself for the love of her paralyzed seaman husband played by Stellen Skarsgard. He can’t make love to her so he wants her to make love to other men and give him the details. Bizarre idea takes on the issues of love, religion, and redemption.
"Zentropa" (1992) - Weird movie about a train conductor who thinks a strange woman may have something to do with Neo-Nazis who are thought to be creatures of the night, akin to werewolves. Not really a horror picture, but technique is everything with this one. It has to be seen to be believed, with its high-con B/W look and saturated color schemes for mood and effect. With a hypnotic narration by Max Von Sydow. With Udo Kier, Barbara Sukowa, Eddie Constantine and Jean-Marc Barre.