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.

An interesting film that explores the problems of small, closed communities - particularly those that rely heavily on religious leadership. The problematic nature of faith and ethics is a strong thread to the story, as the Church is unable or unwilling (through the role of the Parish priest) to support any sense of justice. The only message is: don't get caught and if you do cover it up as best you can...

The story line is fantastical but that is intended so shouldn't be seen as a weakness. What it does explore is the intuitive sense of rightness that young people can retain even in a community that is essentially rotten.

There are twists that are obvious but yet still manage to shock, especially the way in which key characters lose your sympathy as the plot unfolds.

I enjoyed the acting, and the actress who plays Dorothy manages to be both creepy and endearing. She reflects the brooding threat that the island conveys, in the scenery as well as through the behaviour of the population. You really empathise with the psychiatrist sent to assess Dorothy, at least I did. Her hesitancy to stay but desire to help is palpable.

I would recommend it if you liked Orphan or American Gothic...

Although writer/director Agnès Merlet resorted to too many clichés at times, Dorothy Mills does deserve credit for not taking the Hollywood road of botching the conclusion with special effects or nonsensical action scenes.

The movie has a solid pacing and takes the time to acclimate us with its characters. Unfortunately, most of them are terribly uninteresting and look like they were inspired by similar movies.

There are two glowing exceptions: psychiatrist Jane Van Dopp and our title character: the young and troubled Dorthy Mills. Dutch actress Carice Van Houten (The Black Book, Valkyrie) has a lot of presence on screen and manages to showcase all the emotions the doctor goes through, without overacting. The script still doesn't really do the actress justice but she does relatively well, despite not being completely at ease with English.

Without a doubt the most pleasant surprise of the whole movie will be the performance of newcomer Jenn Murray as Dorothy. Knowing that this movie was small budget and comparing her performance with the rest of the cast, one can only be amazed by her raw talent and presence. The role of Dorothy is incredibly challenging and it would have been easy for the movie to become unintentionally funny had the actress playing Dorothy been only average. But on the contrary, Jenn Murray elevates the movie by at least a point or two.

The story is slightly conventional. A nice twist at the end has a good effect to it but feels kind of forced. Some dramatic scenes barely work. More than anything else, the plot is almost ruined by not letting Dorothy be the sole vehicle of the strange happenings on the island.

But this is still a cool mystery movie with an awesome performance by Murray, whom I look forward to seeing in many more films.