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A quiet little town not far from here.

Taking place in a bare wooden sound stage with minimal props, locations and settings marked out in chalk and tape on the floor, Dogville is the latest film from acclaimed art house director Von Trier.

The beautiful fugitive, Grace (Nicole Kidman), arrives in the isolated township of Dogville pleading that she is on the run from a team of gangsters and desperately needs their help. The kindly Tom (Paul Bettany), a self-appointed town spokesman encourages the little community to hide her and in return, Grace agrees to work for them. Initial suspicion turns to trust as the townsfolk realise that they need her. Grace and Tom form a relationship.

However, when the gangsters arrive and start searching for Grace, the people of Dogville demand a better deal in exchange for the risk of harbouring her and her workload becomes harder, the women take against her and the men start abusing her. Even Tom distances himself from her plight. But Grace has a secret and it is a dangerous one, and soon the town of Dogville will regret that it abused Grace so badly.

Academy Award winning actress Nicole Kidman speaks about her role in the art house movie Dogville...

There were rumours of problems on Dogville - what went wrong?

“ The only problem was that we were all determined to get things absolutely right. The director, Lars Von Trier, is a perfectionist. And it was made on a small budget, so there was no time to spend on making up for lost time if everything did not go well. ”

What did you like about it?

“ The originality. It was filmed, like a play, with no walls and no boundaries between the players. I know a lot of critics found it difficult to get used to, but most of them were won over. It was raw and felt we were making something on the edge at all times. ”

Your character suffers a lot of abuse, much of it sexual. How did you feel about that?

“ It is not something I would want my kids to watch, but I never felt exploited. I knew what I was letting myself in for and there were no shocks or surprises. I felt comfortable. ”

Would you do another?

“ Like a shot. But Lars has decided to cast somebody else. He wanted to start filming Dogville 2 - which is called Manderlay - in May, which I could not do. I have two kids and could not fit in the time. ”

So how do you feel about missing out?

“ That's life. It is a brutal industry. I was committed to do something with Sidney Pollack, which would have been disrespectful to ignore. I was not in a position to start work in Sweden with Lars. It is quite a lot to take two kids and move yourself to a foreign country for a few weeks work. ”

But you have so many dark, serious roles - is that by accident?

“ Accidental coincidence. I like responding to damaged women and victims, although I never consider myself as damaged. It is always much more than a job. You give part of yourself each time you do a film. ”

How do you approach each role?

“ I have a thing where I am always trying to escape who I am. I was taught at drama school to create a character inside out. I always like to create a character from the interior. With the London play, Blue Room, the actor Iain Glen was saying: Okay, we have got to get the shoes and the cane and I am going to get this for this character and that for that character, and I am like: Nothing. The director Sam Mendes eventually said to me before the dress rehearsal: Nicole, you have to put one of the costumes on. I am like: No, no, I am still trying to find out how I walk. I have not found it yet. I am not here yet. I can then layer a role. I have also had the good fortune to work with some of the best make-up and hair people in the world, who make me look good. ”

Nicole Kidman Filmography

Dogville

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