Bjork is an odd duck (or swan, if you will). Her colorful, bombastic, and unique sensibilities are what have made her an enduring star. One would expect a starring film vehicle to be just as thrillingly strange as her songs, fashion choices, and videos. Dancer in the Dark is definitely strange, just not in the whimsical way one might expect.What happens:
Bjork plays a single mother who lives in a trailer and works a factory job. She is going blind because of a degenerative genetic ocular disease, a fact that she is hiding. She is saving her money to purchase an operation for her son, to prevent him from going blind too. To escape her dreary life, she tends to imagine herself performing intricate song and dance numbers. A declining series of events with a friend turn desperate and lead Bjork down an inevitable tragic path.
What really happens:
This movie is horrible, but not in a production values, musical, or acting sort of way. From roughly the halfway point, you know what direction things are going, and that it isn’t going to be good AT ALL. But the movie takes its time getting there, just dragging out the agony, and eventually turning to annoyance.
Bjork’s character progresses from being a sweet, noble woman, to a whiny martyr. At first she’s noble; working hard and trying to prevent her son from having to go through what she is. Her neighbor takes advantage of her and she ends up killing him. This scene is very reminiscent of the Coen Brothers' take on the aftermath of murder in Blood Simple and Fargo. By that I mean it’s not just a tidy little event, and the detailing of it on film is supremely uncomfortable.
The problem is that the murder is really the climax of the film, even though it takes place way too early. So the rest of the movie is spent with Bjork in prison awaiting her death sentence and refusing to do anything to save herself. It wears a viewer down.
I’m sure a lot of the pain and discomfort of watching this film was fully intentional. But my question is: Why?!
Questions and Concerns:
The movie is done in a cinema verite style that tends to make some scenes look like outtakes accidentally left in, or lost scenes from Waiting For Guffman. This is especially true in the beginning.
There are three people who just appear to be innocence personified, though you know it just can’t be true given how strange they are: David Lynch, David Byrne, and Bjork.
Has a pop star ever submitted herself to look so plain and dumpy in a film? Bravo to Bjork for this.
Bjork’s soundtrack for this movie actually transcends the film itself. I just need to scrub any associations from the movie off of my brain so I can listen to it and enjoy. Oh, and she does a fantastic version of “My Favorite Things” which is unfortunately absent from the soundtrack. Kenny Rogers, eat your heart out!
In Conclusion:
Buy the soundtrack, Selmasongs, and skip the movie. Afterall, any film that features the silent blond kidnapping guy from Fargo as a love interest should be approached with caution!
