Operation Screenshot (Films of the 2000s): Lars Von Trier's Dogville (2003)

My Favorite Closing Shots: William Peter Blatty's The Ninth Configuration and Lars Von Trier's Breaking the Waves

The Sacrificing of Nicole Kidman

Upon the release of Lars Von Trier's audacious and brilliant DOGVILLE (2003), an exhausted Nicole Kidman decided to drop out of its follow up films and explore some lighter projects. After completing work on the emotionally draining BIRTH (2004) in which she gave possibly her greatest performance, Kidman signed on to two films that promised to be less stressful but hopefully still artistically rewarding.
Nicole Kidman has always been a fearless actress. You can see that in her very earliest work for Australian tv in the eighties, specifically with her turn in the mini-series VIETNAM (1987) but she has also always kept her eye on commercial projects. Between the period between her break though role in Gus Van Sant's TO DIE FOR (1995) and BIRTH she handled this shuffling between overtly mainstream roles and smaller independent productions incredibly well. Whether you are a fan or not, it is hard to deny that Kidman was one of the bravest stars of her generation and her best work shows a complicated actress capable of a deep range and an astonishing spiritual center.
She seemed invincible for a period of about five years after surviving one of Stanley Kubricks most draining, and in my eyes one of his greatest, films EYES WIDE SHUT (1999). She finally won an Oscar for her portrayal of Virgina Woolf in THE HOURS (2002) although personally I would have given it to her for THE PORTRAIT OF A LADY (1996) or THE OTHERS (2001) first. After THE HOURS she could rightly be called one of the most respected and greatest actresses in the world but things suddenly begin to slip for her.
David Fincher's PANIC ROOM (2002) seemed to be the first sign something was wrong. Kidman sustained a bad injury on the set and had to be replaced by an eager and able Jodie Foster. She then unexpectedly dropped out of Jane Campion's fierce IN THE CUT (2003), a film that she did end up producing. Then there was Von Trier.
Lars Von Trier is unquestionably one of the great directors in cinema right now. Controversial, brave, frustrating and never easy to pin down, Von Trier also has a reputation for running his actors into the ground. Bjork is said to have checked herself into a hospital after her legendary turn in his DANCER IN THE DARK (1999) and one glance at the startling DOGVILLE CONFESSIONS (2003) shows that Kidman is in some sort of serious trouble. One particular moment I will never forget has her sprawled out on a bed, around the time of the infamous rape scene, staring into the camera and whispering, "Help Me." It could have been a diva like moment except for the fact that I very much believe Nicole Kidman when she whispers this confessional short plea in this clip.

So I don't blame Nicole Kidman for backing away from her more uncompromising work after the DOGVILLE and BIRTH experiences but that doesn't make me any less depressed about where her career is right now. Starting with the horrendous remake of THE STEPFORD WIVES (2004) right through to the recent and dismal THE INVASION (2007), Hollywood has reduced Kidman to a shell of her former self. Films like BEWITCHED (2005), THE INTERPRETER (2005) and FUR (2006) are not terrible (although BEWITCHED is pretty close) but they have each contributed to Kidman's quick professional downfall. THE INVASION is the worst yet and the biggest waste of Nicole's considerable talents since BATMAN FOREVER over 12 years ago.

So what's next for Nicole Kidman? Thankfully her upcoming projects seem more promising. First up is Noah Baumbach's SQUID AND THE WHALE (2005) follow up, MARGOT AT THE WEDDING which will give Nicole the chance to act with the equally fierce Jennifer Jason Leigh (another great actress who has been woefully underused lately). She then has THE GOLDEN COMPASS which will team her up again with Daniel Craig and perhaps most excitedly, Baz Luhrmann's AUSTRALIA. Now, I am not a fan of Luhrmann but I hope that the very fact that Kidman is out of Hollywood and back in Australia will relight some of the fire she has lost in the past few years.
Kidman is also preparing NEED, which will match her with her real life best friend Naomi Watts and she is rumored for Wong's remake of THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI. Where her career leads her at this point remains to be seen. Perhaps she peaked with DOGVILLE and BIRTH but I hope not. Nicole Kidman in the right role is a reminder of how powerful modern English Language cinema can be, unfortunately as of late she has been a reminder of how mainstream Hollywood can suck all of the life out of even the greatest performers. I wish her luck and hope for many future roles that are worthy of her talents.

Nicole Kidman's greatest work can be found in the following films. Anyone suspicious of her abilities are advised to check any of these out.

In Chronological order:

ROOM TO MOVE (1985): One of Nicole's earliest roles was as a teenager in this hour long drama that was a part of the Australian WINNERS series. Even at this young age she was showing an amazing natural depth few actresses can claim to have.

VIETNAM (1987): Nicole won the Australian Film Institutes's Best Actress award for this powerful Australian miniseries. She was just 19 years old when when she made it.

DEAD CALM (1989): Intense, claustrophobic little Australian thriller in which Kidman steals from her more experienced co-star, Sam Neil.

FLIRTING (1991): Totally charming Australian coming of age film that featured early appearances by both Thandie Newton and Naomi Watts.

TO DIE FOR (1995): Although it is becoming harder and harder to believe, Gus Van Sant was once a really fascinating director and this is one of his best films. Kidman eats the screen in one of the most unforgettable performances of the nineties.

THE PORTRAIT OF A LADY (1996): Jane Campion's finest two hours and one of Nicole's most subtle and accomplished performances.

EYES WIDE SHUT (1999): I have been called crazy for saying this but I will gladly repeat it here. This is my favorite Stanley Kubrick film, with the exception of A CLOCKWORK ORANGE, and one of its biggest strengths is the complicated performance Kidman delivers for the grand master in this, his final film.

THE OTHERS (2001): Alejandro Amenabar's creepy and old fashioned ghost story is one of my favorite genre films of the decade and you would have to go all the way back to Mia Farrow in 1978's FULL CIRCLE to find a more penetrating genre performance. A tour de force by everyone involved.

BIRTHDAY GIRL (2001): A real wild card but a winning little film featuring one of Nicole's sneakiest and sexiest performances.

THE HOURS (2002): A film many people seem to hate but I can't imagine too many having much of a problem with Nicole's Oscar winning turn here. Compare her very natural work with the very mannered Julianne Moore and Meryl Streep at her most irritatingly histrionic.

DOGVILLE (2003): Love it, hate it but admit that there has never been anything quite like it.

THE HUMAN STAIN (2003): She is at her peak by this point and this is Robert Benton's best film since 1982's STILL OF THE NIGHT. A criminally ignored performance.

COLD MOUNTAIN (2003): I am still surprised by the cold reception this film from Anthony Minghella got. A beautiful and ambitious civil war drama that brought Miramax to its knees. It features another totally dedicated performance by Kidman.

BIRTH (2004): The end of the line so far. A chilling European Art Film disguised as a horror film penned by legendary BELLE DE JOUR writer Jean-Claude Carriere. Probably the best performance Nicole Kidman has ever given and possibly, along with SOLARIS and IT'S ALL ABOUT LOVE, the most underrated film of the decade. If Nicole Kidman's career had to rest on the final moments in this film then she has already qualified herself as one of the true greats.

Inspiring Careers in Modern Cinema: Chloe Sevigny

Born in Darien, Connecticut in the late fall of 1974 to a strict Catholic family, Chloe Stevens Sevigny probably seemed like an unlikely candidate to blossom into one of the most uncompromising and bravest actors in modern American cinema. Since her searing screen debut in Larry Clark’s Kids (1995) though she has been just that, an intense and potent reminder that the independent heart of American cinema always has a strong backbone behind it.
Springing from both Polish and French heritage, Sevigny was the youngest of two children in a relatively normal household. Her rather sheltered world began to open up as a teenager when she began to make regular visits to New York City in the late eighties and early nineties. Blossoming into a remarkably striking and beautiful young woman, Sevigny was discovered just past her 18th birthday by a Fashion magazine editor who brought her on as an intern.


After landing her intern position, Sevigny’s world quickly changed and within a year she was modeling on the front of a Gigolo Aunts album, hanging out with Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon and having odes written to her in the press by Jay Mcinerney. Cinema seemed the natural extension for the exciting young scenester and it came calling in 1995 when Sevigny came into the view of controversial photographer and filmmaker Larry Clark, who was planning a new film based on a screenplay by a young writer named Harmony Korine.


It’s a bit hard to describe the impact Kids had on the film world in 1995, but it was a searing one and much of it was due to the devastating performance Chloe Sevigny delivered as Jennie for Clark and Korine. Simultaneously projecting an inexperience with a world weariness and an intensity not possessed in very many actors from her generation, Sevigny’s work in Kids marked her as one of the most important newcomers of the nineties and destroyed doubters who thought Mcinerney’s “It-Girl” would be a quick flash in the pan.

Sevigny followed up Kids with the remarkable Trees Lounge (1996), a knowing and controlled film directed by and starring Steve Buscemi. Again delivering a haunting performance in a smaller role, Sevigny’s work and the film itself continues to be one of the small hidden treasures of American Independent Cinema in the nineties.


Next up for the young actress was Gummo (1997), the directorial debut film from Korine and the film which briefly marked the end of her first run with strictly independent films, as her next work would be relatively high profile affair.
1998’s Palmetto (1998) from director Volker Schlondorff would indeed be Sevigny’s first mainstream work and it would see her working alongside Woody Harrelson and Elisabeth Shue. The cast is particularly good in Palmetto but the modern noir finally suffers from a rather tired script.

After the disappointing Palmetto, Chloe appeared in Whit Stillman’s interesting The Last Days of Disco(1998) opposite a strong Kate Beckinsale. Despite not finding the success of Stillman’s previous works Metropolitan (1990) and Barcelona (1994), The Last Days of Disco has arguably aged better and is need of a reassessment.


Sevigny would strike gold with her next film, a low budget affair called Boys Don’t Cry (1999) that would become one of the major films of 1999 and would garner her an Academy Award Nomination as Best Supporting Actress. Viewed today, Boys Don’t Cry is quite a haunting work and the pairing of Sevigny and Hilary Swank was an inspired choice by director Kimberly Peirce. It is worth noting that Chloe was originally up for the lead in the film but she opted for the supporting spot, a career line she has bravely followed throughout her career.


After filming Boys Don’t Cry, Sevigny was offered the lead female role in Buffalo 66 (1998), the debut feature film from writer-director-actor Vincent Gallo. Scheduling conflicts didn’t permit it and the plum role went to Christina Ricci, although Gallo and Sevigny’s paths would cross again several years later.

Boys Don’ Cry proved to be a hard film to follow for the recently Oscar nominated Sevigny. She became more and more of a fashion icon and had strong roles in Korine’s Julian Donkey Boy (1999) and Mary Harron’s audacious American Psycho (1999) but she seemed out of place in A Map of the World (1999). Some TV work followed as well as a spot in the Anthology film Ten Minutes Older (2002) before she would return to form in Olivier Assayas’ flawed but still powerful DemonLover (2002) and the ferocious Party Monster (2002) for directors Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato.


2003 would prove to be the most controversial year in Chloe Sevigny’s career. It would be a year that would see her work with fiercly uncompromising directors ranging from Lars Von Trier to Vincent Gallo, and it would end with her losing her contract at the William Morris Agency.
Von Trier’s masterful and bruising Dogville (2003) opened the year for Sevigny and she more than held her own against award winning performers ranging from Nicole Kidman to Lauren Bacall to Ben Gazzara…not to mention she survived Von Trier and indeed it is the unforgettable Dogville Confessions where we perhaps see Chloe Sevigny at both her most vulnerable and bravest.


The heated and much argued about Dogville couldn’t hold a candle in controversary to Vincent Gallo’s The Brown Bunny (2003), one of the most individualistic and moving American Independent films of the past thirty years. As the very damaged Daisy that haunts Gallo’s character, Sevigny delivers her most poetic work and it's unfortunate that such a powerful turn was lost in the media frenzy surrounding the film’s climatic oral sex scene. The Brown Bunny remains one of the most distinct American films of the decade and Chloe Sevigny’s performance as the ghostly Daisy remains one of the most resonate.


A strong small turn in the striking and rather brilliant Shattered Glass (2003) got lost amidst the furious reaction The Brown Bunny inspired. Without an agency backing her, one might have expected Sevigny to fade from view, a fact that has made her last few years all the more inspiring and remarkable.
Quality roles in the fine Woody Allen film Melinda and Melinda (2004) as well as Jim Jarmusch’s Broken Flowers (2005) followed The Brown Bunny as did her turn in the disappointing Dogville follow-up production Manderlay (2005), and if the remake of Brian De Palma’s Sisters (2006) was a mistake then the same can’t said for David Fincher’s jaw dropping Zodiac (2007), a brilliant and epic piece of work that finds Chloe again delivering another stirring and solid supporting turn amidst some of the other best actors of her generation.
In the past couple of years Chloe Sevigny has maintained a high profile thanks to many striking print ads and a continuing role on the acclaimed HBO series Big Love. Her upcoming features include Barry Munday and The Killing Room. Not surprisingly, Chloe has supporting roles in both, and they will both no doubt continue one of the most interesting and inspiring careers of the past two decades.
Unlike many of her ‘indie’ peers who came out of the nineties, Chloe Sevigny has for the most part shied away from mainstream Hollywood. Even studio made films like Palmetto have at the very least had an independent feel. Chloe Sevigny's unwillingness to buckle to the system is beyond refreshing and at times feels downright heroic. Long may she continue to stay on the outskirts…

For more on Chloe Sevigny, please visit this remarkable fan site, where all of the above images plus thousands of others can be seen.

Operation Screenshot (Films of the 2000s) Lars Von Trier's Antichrist (2009)

Lars Von Trier's Melancholia: The Official Trailer

The first trailer for Lars Von Trier's upcoming Melancholia appeared online recently and I wanted to share it here for any who hadn't seen it yet. Also the dedicated folks over at my favorite Kirsten Dunst site have captured some striking stills from the trailer including the one above. Melancholia will be premiering at Cannes this year amidst some tough competition. I am having trouble thinking about any other upcoming film right now.

Melancholia from Zentropa on Vimeo.

Kirsten Dunst Wins Best Actress at Cannes

Moon in the Gutter would like to extend an enthusiastic congratulations to Kirsten Dunst for winning Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival for her work in Lars Von Trier's Melancholia. Kirsten has been one of my favorite actors since I first fell in love with her work over her decade ago, due to her turns in Dick and The Virgin Suicides, so I am thrilled to see her finally achieving this kind of recognition.