There’s a certain way to experienceDogMan,visionary Luc Besson’s new thriller. For starters, best to know Besson. He’s the man who gave usThe Fifth ElementandLucy,and those two films exist outside typical cinematic norms. They are as edgy as they are dreamy.DogManoffers something similar. The best thing to know going into the film is that it is a bit bonkers from the get-go. With that in mind, it shouldn’t phase you (much) to watchthis trippy taleof reclamation and how far one man decides to go to take justice into his own hands.
DogManwouldn’t be the film it is, however, without Caleb Landry Jones (X-Men: First Class, Get Out, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing,Missouri), playing the troubled yet calculating Douglas, a man who survived an abusive past and went on to transform himself into another kind of creature entirely. Jones delivers one of themost electrifying performancesof the year. It’s an award-worthy turn, although we doubt most industry insiders will see it that way. Perhaps it doesn’t meet conventional Oscar standards. However, Emma Stone grabbed the gold for playing a far more over-the-top individual, so Landry deserves some credit here. Watch the film for Landry. Then, savor the nuances.
Employing flashbacks, the film tracks Douglas—from the prison interrogation room to childhood and beyond—revealing his traumatic early years, how the abused boy ultimately found salvation and came into his own, and the ballsy way he sought justice through his connection with dogs. Many dogs, in fact. If you appreciate avant-garde and edgy films with quirky protagonists at the center of the story—and if you have some patience to allow this film to win you over—DogManis tail-wagging fun. Let’s unpack it.
He Will Survive
The inspiration forDogMancame partly from an article Luc Besson read about a French family who threw their own child in a cage when he was just five. Curious about how that would affect a person mentally, Besson set out to write and directDogMan,hoping to expound upon the universal themes of suffering and love. In the case of Douglas Munrow, the love comes from the strange connection he develops with acommunity of dogs.
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We first meet Douglas driving a truck with what appears to be a pack of wild dogs in the back. Douglas is in drag—blond wig,tresMarilyn—and we wonder if this film is about a tormented drag performer. Yes and no. (More on that later.) Having been stopped by the police, Douglas remains calm, smiling knowingly. When Evelyn (JoJo T. Gibbs), a court-appointed psychologist, begins interrogating Douglas, we learn more about him through these sessions and how his strong connections to canines are formed.
Under the brutal rule ofan abusive father(Clemens Schick), Douglas was locked in a cage of dogs and forced to exist there for years, we assume. His brown-nosing bully of an older brother (Lincoln Powell) isn’t much help, but divine providence inserts itself into Douglas’s situation, offering a chance at freedom. But it comes with a price—mobility.
Suddenly, in a wheelchair with limited walking abilities, Douglas realizes who his true loved ones—and most loyal means of support—are. Dogs. There’s a delightful absurdist quality to this film, and it requires some suspension of belief—or not—when Douglas’ canines reveal just how fine-tuned they are to their human companion. We “got” it. Whether audiences will remains to be seen, but it’s hard to deny just how close our connections to our four-legged pals can actually be.
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DogManalso inserts a fitting B story—thankfully not cloying—involving Evelyn, a single mother, who herself has been under the watchful eye of an opinionated parent—albeit far less harsh than Caleb’s brutal “caregiver.” That plot affords the movie a sense of groundedness and a way to peek into Caleb’s story as Evelyn pieces together how Douglas wound up sitting before her. JoJo T. Gibbs, who shined in the comedyTwenties,is more serious here, and her empathy for Douglas also allows us to invest in the character and this story’s outcome.
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Let’s talk about Douglas, shall we? In watching Caleb Landry Jones, one recallsHeath Ledger’s fever-dreamy portrayal of The JokerinThe Dark Knight.The whimsy, the knowing smile, the calm yet mysterious eyes—you never know what’s about to happen next. Luc Besson presents us with a rare, memorable character.
As fate would have it, we learn that adult Douglas, seeking work, stumbles into a gig singing in drag. Music, like dogs, was a comfort, after all, and it’s here that the film shifts tonally for a bit as Douglas croons to make a living. Edith Piaf’sLa Vie en Rosehas never been so richly captured or performed.
Meanwhile, there are some gritty criminal antics happening on the streets, and Douglas, like Batman perhaps, has placed himself in the “protector” role. Situations come to a boil, of course. Criminals reveal themselves. Douglas, still nursing daddy-issue wounds andthirsty for revenge, takes delight in orchestrating a series of outlandish yet effective measures to keep justice in check.
Break-ins, machine guns, trick doors, uber-sentient doggies knowing just what to do—oh my! It’s like a warped101 Dalmatiansby way of a fallen DC hero. And wicked fun.If… you allow yourself to just float along and see where this surreal tale wants to take you. It also illuminates how a tragic aftermath in one’s life can play out in absurd twists.
Inventive, offbeat, and buoyed by Caleb Landry Jones’s tour de force performance. We should also give these canines credit, too. They know just how to patrol—sometimes with their jaws locked on your crotch. One can imagine the lengths Luc Besson went to with dog trainers and nearly 150 dogs prancing around. By the looks of it, these canines got down their cues. Bottom line:DogManis devilishly fun, and Caleb Landry Jones commands the screen.DogManopens in select theaters on Mar. 29.
