DogMan, 2023.
Written and Directed by Luc Besson.
Starring Caleb Landry Jones, Jojo T. Gibbs, Christopher Denham, Grace Palma, Clemens Schick, John Charles Aguilar, Iris Bry, Lincoln Powell, Alexander Settineri, Eric Carter, Bennett Saltzman, Bianca Melgar, Jeff Mantel, and Michael Garza.
SYNOPSIS:
A boy, bruised by life, finds his salvation through the love of his dogs.
DogMan is a film so absurd with so many narrative swerves that it wouldn’t be surprising if anyone with a slight curiosity went online, read ten different reviews, and still came away refusing to believe a word anyone said about the plot. Even those familiar with writer/director Luc Besson’s eccentricities (think of something like The Fifth Element) should not feel prepared for what they would be getting themselves into here. Unfortunately, that’s also a problem because Luc Besson doesn’t seem to be in on the joke of how outlandishly, unintentionally hilarious this movie is, which is also no small feat considering it contains everything from child abuse, disabilities, broken hearts, self-harm, and confused identity.
In a creative choice that consistently breaks up any deranged momentum the story builds up, DogMan‘s story is mostly told in flashbacks, while Douglas Munrow (Caleb Landry Jones, committed to this bonkers mess) is interviewed by a psychologist (Jojo T. Gibbs) following arrest while in drag and covered in blood following some serious altercation that presumably saw him protecting the numerous dogs he seemingly communicates with seemingly using outrageous telepathy.
There is clear dramatic intent in depicting Douglas as a loner outsider and how he came to be so connected and attached to canines, attempting to draw some parallels between him and his profiler, who also has some baggage that mostly goes unexplored. However, how much of that unfolds, especially during flashbacks, is riotously funny, leaving one feeling destined to head to hell for laughing.
Even as a physically disabled person from birth, I couldn’t help laughing at the insane, comically over-the-top portrayals of child abuse that left Douglas halfway paralyzed. He can technically walk, but due to some medical explanation, the bullet is still lodged somewhere within his spine, meaning every step he takes is marching forward to his death, leaving him suggesting that he is a Shakespearean figure. That’s nowhere near as funny as watching him repeatedly punch himself in his legs, pitying himself to embarrassing degrees, all because a crush who first taught him about Shakespeare, performances, and the freedom of becoming someone else has a partner and is about to get married. Stupid him for considering she would ever fall in love with a man broken mentally and physically!
Meanwhile, Douglas is trying to do some good with his psychic connection to dogs, directing them into a restaurant to bite a generic gangster by the balls while another dog delivers a letter to stop harassing businesses for money. Unsurprisingly, they do come back into play later on in the story, but not before an unexpected, baffling Robin Hood diversion into ordering dogs to steal valuable items from the rich inside their homes. Everything involving the dogs also happens to be funny in a chaotic, intentionally unbelievable way.
With each new plot development, character, and narrative detour, DogMan continues to feel like the Key and Peele Gremlins skit come to life. Luc Besson throws every idea he comes up with into the film without regard to finding a tonal balance that makes sense within the already clashing tones. Fortunately, Caleb Landry Jones doesn’t mind hurling himself into this fractured, disjointed vision, making what is here, at the very least, a nutty ride worth seeing to believe everything I wrote here. That’s not an endorsement and doesn’t change the fact that the film is primarily perplexing dogshit.
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
