It's not hard to see why Bjork didn't want to do any films after this. It's a pity most actors can't see when they've done the performance of a lifetime and it's all downhill from there, luckily she did.
Set somewhere in the late 50's in small town USA when the law was so much simpler and a lie could be very effective, the story twists and turns relentlessly on a downward spiral that takes turns in frustrating and moving the viewer.
Although the ever pervasive atmosphere is quite downbeat and descending to downright doom-laden it is punctured throughout by some very inventive musical numbers that break the handheld documentary style into a more exuberant colour palette along with the explosion of the soundscape from quiet mono to full on DTS with intricate use of found sound samples playfully bouncing around the songs.
The main drawback which this film is the camera work. History states that the steadicam has been with us now for over 40 years. Why then, just like many films that are produced now, does the camera try to produce a kinetic feel to a scene that would be beautifully quiet by continually bouncing around slip shod like a drunken schoolchild? Films such as Irreversable use this to great effect by using the lurching technique to upset the viewer, but this is not that kind of film!