Manderlay

Manderlay picks up almost immediately after the events of Dogville, with Grace (now played by Bryce Dallas Howard) living amongst former slaves in an old plantation. Grace assumes that she can teach these people how to get by without a master, though it’s not long before things start to go wrong. As expected, von Trier imbues Manderlay with an exceedingly low-key aesthetic, forgoing sets in favor of chalk outlines and imaginary doors (complete with ludicrous sound effects each time someone enters a room). As a result, it’s virtually impossible for the viewer to get lost in this world – a problem that’s exacerbated by the extraordinarily dull vibe. Much of Manderlay consists of pointless sequences and extraordinarily mundane conversations, and though there are a few interesting moments here and there, there’s certainly not enough to keep the viewer engaged. This is despite Howard’s electrifying performance and an unexpectedly intriguing conclusion, but the bottom line is that Manderlay is a pretentious mess from start to finish.

*1/2 out of ****