Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Nothing more than a play that was filmed. All the "action" on one set with cardboard walls to show where each building was. Although the actors had to pretend to open any doors. I didn't learn anything but, in the future, to stop watching this type of crap and not carry on because it is that odd perhaps it must get better. Predictable enough that I worked out the ending with around two hours to go, I guess I kept on watching the see if I was right. Unless you are a cinema geek who needs the arty stuff I wouldn't waste your time on this one.

First off, let me say that the gimmick of having no set does NOT work. It is a major distraction for the audience. Some have suggested not having the setting somehow forces you to pay attention more to the characters. That is totally incorrect. Your eye and attention is naturally drawn to what you know should be there, but is not. It is only when you have a set that actually fits the story that it essentially becomes invisible to the mind, and your attention is fully on the characters. This is simply a gimmick. It in no way is intrinsic to the story, nor does it advance it in any manner. It is as if the creators wanted to scream as loud as possible, "This is an artsy film!" Yeah, I heard you, but it still sucks.Next, to the story. The underlying theme appears to be that people in the depression who were poor and struggling to get by were horrible, mean and untrustworthy, and all men are closet rapists, and all women are closet rape-accomplices. In fact, none of this is true. On the contrary, the poorest people are often the ones who help one another the most, because the notion "there but for the grace of God" is most true for them. I frankly do not believe a town like that portrayed in this movie ever existed. I do not for a second believe poverty leads to this level of inhumanity but, on the contrary, poor people generally display the highest levels of humanity, and it is the wealthy who are more likely to stray from humanistic behavior. I believe the characters are unrealistic, 2 dimensional and contrived.Ultimately, the movie gets by with big name actors, a lame set gimmick and shock value from contrived and unrealistic characters and behaviors. It evades the critical derision it deserves by hiding behind the label of an "art" film, so if you don't like it, you are too dumb to get it. I think I recall a story about that very phenomenon and, spoiler alert, in that story it turned out the Emperor had no clothes.

It's Depression era Dogville which lies at the end of the road to an abandoned silver mine in the Rocky Mountains. Tom Edison (Paul Bettany) hears a gun shot and then finds Grace (Nicole Kidman) on the run from some gangsters. Tom hides her in the mines and then tries to convince the town to protect her. Most are skeptical and Grace does chores for the people. They eventually accept her into their town but the ugliness eventually grows.This is a highly experimental theatrical experience. The set is more like a play. The buildings have no walls and things are often represented by written labels on the ground. It sets the movie feeling fake. I also don't like the constant narration. This is something deliberate which detracts from the enjoyment. It accentuates the fakeness of this morality play. It's also way too long. The good aspect is Kidman and the other great actors. In addition, the movie has a point and it makes it with surety. This is an unique film and not an enjoyable one.

If you are looking for a film which can really make you question your way of life and view of society then avant-Gard drama "Dogvill" would be the right choice for you.The plot of the move is set in a remote small town somewhere in USA during the prohibition era. A young girl named Grace, played by Nicole Kidman, comes to this imaginary town called Dogvil where meats locals. Gradually she becomes familiar with their way of life, personalities, fears and above all with their hypocrisy.The theater like setting (no walls etc.) giving the impression of everybody's awareness of evil deeds which are happening. This way director achieves the effect of guilt transmission and making spectators think about their own social settings, their involvement and responsibility.Dogvill definitely deserves significant place in history of film as a monument of brave and uncompromising criticism of society. Although I would not recommend this move to people who do not feel the moral issue is important in their lives, to children under the age of 16 and to those who suffer from serious depression.