★ 7 / 10
Dorothy Mills" is one of those films that
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"Dorothy Mills" is one of those films that may not fit into the horror category, but it still contains enough elements to get the attention of horror lovers…
"Dorothy Mills" is one of those films that may not fit into the horror category, but it still contains enough elements to get the attention of horror lovers who want more than gore and a nice variety of scares. I admit that I also like those kinds of horror films, but I can also acknowledge and praise something a little bit more complex, less violent and more 'psychological', which is the case of this film. 'Dorothy Mills' certainly went beyond my expectations and I honestly don't understand why some people are complaining about the movie being 'too slow'. For the contrary, this film successfully manages to capture the attention during the first minutes, which is a crucial thing to do when you're telling a story. If you shock the audience enough during the first minutes and develop a well narrative line that gets more and more complex throughout the end, you're all set, and personally, I think Agnès Merlet and Juliette Sales achieved this perfectly.
I don't know anything about Jenn Murray, the young actress who portrayed Dorothy Mills. I am not acquainted with her earlier work, but I don't need any information to state that she is definitely one of the most gifted actresses I have seen in a long time. The first time we see Jenn on screen, her character is doing something extremely violent, which provokes repulsion and hate towards her. However, only a few minutes later, Dorothy suddenly appears as a poor innocent child, which causes more sympathy than fear or rejection. Jenn Murray is obviously gifted enough to elaborate a complex character, who never ceases to amaze the audience with a variety of types of behavior through the entire film. Dorothy is a flawless character, not only thanks to Jenn Murray, obviously, but also because the writers did a marvelous job creating her. Judding this film by the cover, one would be inclined to assume that 'Dorothy Mills' is another movie about a bad little girl who kills people and gets away with it because nobody ever suspects of young innocent little girls. Well... this is really not the case. The cover is misleading and it makes it makes it look campy, when in reality, Dorothy is a much more complex character with a lot of things to express. Again, I have a special love for campy films as well, but I'm just stating a difference, in this case.
I highly recommend this fine psychological thriller, with one of the most complex 'villains' I have seen in a while. If you're in the mood for a good thriller with some well done twists, give this movie a chance.
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★ 7 / 10
The five faces of Dottie
jotix100
A horrible situation develops in a remote Irish island in which parents arriving home, after a night out, find the babysitter, Dorothy attacking their infant.…
A horrible situation develops in a remote Irish island in which parents arriving home, after a night out, find the babysitter, Dorothy attacking their infant. They are completely taken aback thinking how could they have entrusted their baby to such a disturbed young woman. The setting is a small community in which the role of the local church, led by its stern pastor, dominates all what is going on in the small town.
The mainland decides the case merits a look by a qualified psychiatrist to evaluate the situation. Jane Van Doop is sent to work with Dorothy. As Jane gets out of the ferry that took her to the island, she must drive to her destination, but along the way, she suffers an accident trying to avoid two cars, an orange one and a blue one, plunging into the frigid waters of a lake. Jane is able to survive.
It becomes clear Jane is not welcomed into the small community. She is regarded as an interloper. Working with Dorothy is not exactly easy for Jane, who finds Dorothy unresponsive. That situation changes when suddenly Dorothy changes into a small child, Mimi. Jane's diagnosis takes into consideration is a case of multiple personalities. She will find three others living within Dorothy, but getting rid of them proves a bigger challenge than Jane thought possible.
Jane goes to Colin Garrivan, who is the representative of the police in the community, for help. He warns Jane of the dangers ahead. The men that gather in the small inn are not too pleased to see Jane poking her nose into what they feel is not her business. Jane perseveres in solving the web inside Dorothy's mind, but it is a mixed blessing because of the anger she raises among the citizens as the truth behind what is troubling Dorothy all along.
Agnes Merlet is a competent director who saw possibilities in the story she and Juliette Sales created. In a lot of ways, this tale reminded this viewer of Nunnally Johnson's 1957 film "The Three Faces of Eve", in which a young woman suffers the same fate that caused little Dorothy to become the little monster she became. In making Dorothy resemble the evil Rhoda Penmark the central character of Mervyn LeRoy's "The Bad Seed", Ms. Merlet was perhaps paying tribute to two classics of the genre, although "Three Faces of Eve" was more of a clinical study of a woman possessed by personalities which were caused directly the same way in both stories.
"Dorothy" is also a case study of a small town hiding a dark secret. The locals are all guilty of concealing a heinous crime that happened years before. The whole community, including Pastor Ross, figured what happened within such religious people was best to keep it a secret. Ms. Merlet achieved a coup with the casting of the two main roles in the film. Jenn Morris, making her screen debut made a sensational case for the disturbed Dorothy, a young woman that experienced a trauma in her childhood. Carice Van Houten, the Dutch screen and stage actress does amazing work in the film. The supporting players also contributed to the ensemble feeling one gets watching the film.
Not having seen her latest effort, "Hideaways" one can only welcome Ms. Merlet's next film, wishing her successes in future ventures.
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@jotix100 A review is generally meant to make me want to watch a movie, not feel like I have already seen it. It's a review....not a school assingment.