Dogman, 2018.
Directed by Matteo Garrone.
Starring Marcello Fonte and Edoardo Pesce.
SYNOPSIS:
Marcello, a small and gentle dog groomer, finds himself involved in a dangerous relationship of subjugation with Simone, a former violent boxer who terrorises the entire neighbourhood. In an effort to reaffirm his dignity, Marcello will submit to an unexpected act of vengeance.
The latest tragicomedy from writer-director Matteo Garrone (Gomorrah) may not be a refinement or an evolution of the filmmaker’s well-honed, darkly hilarious style, but thanks to a stonking performance from Marcello Fonte – who rightly won the Best Actor award at Cannes – Dogman is still another disarming offering from the singular talent.
Shy and retiring dog stylist Marcello (Fonte) lives for both his work and his darling daughter Alida (Alida Baldari Calabria), but his tranquil-ish existence comes crashing down when he falls in deep with brutal former boxer Simone (Edoardo Pesce). As the erratic Simone asks increasingly more of Marcello and threatens to ruin his standing in the community, he’s forced to make a tough decision.
True to form for Garrone, this is a film braced between two polar opposites; the giddy sweetness of the wiry Marcello playing with his daughter, and his cocaine-huffing hangouts with Simone, which more often than not lead to the pair committing some sort of crime. Any wholesomeness the movie presents is thoroughly ironic, in the service of a beguiling character study of an alternately sympathetic and pitiable figure.
If an opening incident involving a dog and a freezer suggests this might tend more towards a daft caper than a grim drama, fear not; Garrone eases us in with the broad gags before ramping up the intensity considerably later on.
The result is a fiercely unpredictable and surprising film with a protagonist who defies his seemingly inoffensive, bookish appearance to become something far more complex and, ultimately, something more real. For every passive and pathetic exchange we see involving him, there’s a desperate sadness and desire percolating underneath, and the deep nuances of Fonte’s performance convey it beautifully.
Though Garrone keeps his rhythm tight for the first two acts, steam does start to run out somewhat in the final reel, with the pace slowing down just when it feels like it should accelerate. But ultimately, the director rubs out the lines of both humour and drama and asks the viewer to reconcile which prevails within their own minds. The painfully protracted final 10 minutes do still feel to the overall detriment of the piece, but the ironic final note is certainly hauntingly fitting regardless.
While not as consistent as Garrone’s best efforts, Dogman is girded by its wonderfully weedy lead actor, whose uniquely expressive face mostly carries the film through even its occasional lurches. A wonderfully acted blacker-than-black comedy tailor-made to polarize.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Shaun Munro – Follow me on Twitter for more film rambling.
