Bjork's debut is heart-wrenching

Intending only to write the score for her acting debut Dancer In The Dark, Bjork's premiere performance comes as a surprise to those who have followed her musical career. One thing is apparent throughout the film: She can act, especially in the movie's darker scenes in which her character's life begins to unravel. Bjork's character is Selma, a Czech immigrant and single working mother who is carrying a secret she can bear to tell no one she's slowly going blind. With her 10-year-old son Gene, Selma rents a trailer from her model neighbors. Managing to hide her failing eyesight from those around her, Selma works long hours at a factory making sinks. She saves every dollar she can in hopes of paying for an operation for her son who is destined for Selma's same fate without an operation. In her spare time, Selma and her friend Kathy (Catherine Deneuve) take part in the town's production of The Sound of Music in which Selma plays Maria. It is through the production that Selma's love for glitzy musicals is realized, and this love is used throughout the movie as an escape when situations take a downward spiral. Turmoil then ensues when Selma confides in the wrong people and all her money is stolen. Dancer In The Dark's documentary style adds a sense of realism to the production and its characters, packing an emotional punch in the movie's heavy ending. The dark sequences that conclude the film certainly won't leave an audience feeling good, but the strong performances throughout are worth seeing in themselves. Rating: A-