Ebert Review Dancer in the Dark

I think Ebert accurately puts that there's a need in this film to let the plot settle, let your mind make sense of what you just watched because it is so drastically unreal yet honest simultaneously. It isn't a Cinderella story, where all the loose ends are tied and the movie ends in happily ever after and that may be why it doesn't necessarily sit well with me. It isn't the conventional ending you'd expect, actually throughout the entire movie my hope was that her luck would change but it seemed that everything was set against her from the very beginning. In one perspective you can see where people wouldn't like the film, the director took many risks that you either appreciate or despise. The spontaneous singing, the death seen that is shot way more dramatically then one would expect and the films plot that seems very farfetched. Though the director had all intentions of executing the film in these instances to create a certain affect i personally didn't like how the movie was staged, dramatic, and ridiculous in some scenes. Thats not to say i hate the film, just that i don't necessarily understand it. I also wholeheartedly agree that the main character is a simpleton, but wish they portrayed the female lead as less helpless. I also am confused as to why the plot did seem so unrealistic, maybe thats just my opinion. There were just alot of concerns i had regarding the character development of Selma.