Muzzle, 2023.
Directed by John Stalberg Jr.
Starring Aaron Eckhart, Stephen Lang, Diego Tinoco, Leslie Black, Penelope Mitchell, Nick Searcy, Grainger Hines, Luis Chávez, Delissa Reynolds, George Avgoustis, Danielle Munday, Leon Walker, Gonzalo Robles, David Pittinger, Kyle Smithson, Neftali Hernandez, and Joseph Sanchez.
SYNOPSIS:
After his dog is killed in Skid Row, Jake Rosser (Aaron Eckhart) plummets deep into a sinister underworld to uncover the truth about who may be responsible.
This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors on strike, Muzzle wouldn’t exist.
The setup to John Stalberg Jr.’s (co-writing alongside Carlyle Eubank) Muzzle is far more intriguing than the mystery/revenge thriller it becomes. LAPD officer Jake Rosser (a serviceable Aaron Eckhart) has an unbreakable bond with his police dog, rambling to no end, speaking to him while driving around the slums until a call comes in. At one point, Jake talks aloud about some funny, nonsensical grammar rules, which makes one wish the filmmakers had that same deep-thinking approach when crafting the story here.
Nevertheless, the job brings them to a dangerous scene where one officer goes down, with Jake and his good dog giving chase to the perpetrator, eventually finding themselves inside an abandoned building. The situation continues to go sideways, with nobody apprehended and Jake’s dog inexplicably dead in what turns out to be related to fentanyl. It is an admittedly tense sequence that Aaron Eckhart plays well enough, succinctly expressing his affection for that dog and the mental disarray he is plunged into upon carrying out the dead body, pleading with EMTs to focus on the animal instead of the wounded officer. He allows his anger issues to get the best of them, headbutting the EMT in response to no compliance.
There is certainly a compelling drama to craft from the bond and tragic loss between a man and his law enforcement service dog. Unfortunately, the filmmakers here are not interested in that, brushing off portraying Jake’s required therapy in-depth in favor of investigating who is responsible for the drugs and other shady happenings. Conveniently, an attractive woman (Penelope Mitchell) also lives in his apartment complex and is quick to listen to the traumatized officer and former war veteran. This entire dynamic rings false considering that all the filmmakers care about is a generic procedural about where the drugs come from. The ending, in particular, is laugh-out-loud hilarious for what it’s trying to sell viewers.
What ensues is Jake weaselling his way back onto the force, proving that he is of sound mind, connecting with longtime friend detectives (Delissa Reynolds), and setting aside squabbles with other officers to investigate and deliver justice. In a poor narrative choice, the grieving element is somewhat dropped entirely as Jake takes in and trains a new dog named Sox. She has been abused and is missing teeth, with one replaced by titanium, calling into question the morality of transitioning such a traumatized dog into a police officer.
Together, they hit the streets questioning informants, including a motorized wheelchair-bound Black man. To put it politely, nearly every resident is unkempt and a victims of their unfortunate circumstances when it comes to appearance. There is a clear lack of hygiene, missing teeth, drug addiction, scrambled brains, and more. Awkwardly, the filmmakers sometimes treat them as objects to gawk at rather than believable human beings. It is the most clichéd concept of the poor and homeless one could put on screen.
From grief to therapy to promising new relationships to sleuthing to corruption, these elements are disjointed in Muzzle. It’s a film with a severe identity crisis that is only watchable and tolerable due to a solid ensemble making the most of the material in trying to find something character-driven to pull on. The depressing but fantastic concept is wasted to tell a much more generic, routine tale.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
