Dogman (2023) Review
Dogman (2023) Review
As a child, Doug’s abusive father made him live in the family kennel, where he developed a strong bond with the dogs. As a wheelchair-bound adult he is a loner, running a stray dogs’ home, and pursuing his love of theatre and cabaret. He also helps to right wrongs – with his crack team of canine companions – in the harsh and corrupt city. When the state department suddenly closes his animal shelter, and a ruthless mobster he has crossed seeks revenge, it looks like a brutal day of bloody reckoning is at hand for Doug and his faithful friends.
The latest film from Luc Besson – the visionary filmmaker behind THE FIFTH ELEMENT, LA FEMME NIKITA and the TRANSPORTER series – DOGMAN won the Graffetta d’Oro for Best Film at the 2023 Venice Film Festival. DOGMAN stars Caleb Landry Jones (Cannes winner for Best Actor for NITRAM) as Doug, a troubled man who finds salvation through his canine friends. The cast also includes Jojo T Gibbs (FRESH), Christopher Denham (BILLIONS), Clemens Schick (DAS BOOT), and Marisa Berenson (BARRY LYNDON).
The marketing blurb describes this as ‘TAXI DRIVER meets LASSIE’, DOGMAN is a cult classic in the making. It’s never cloying or sentimental and it somehow manages to be both grounded and unrealistic at the same time. Buy into the ride though and you’re in for a great time. Flawed, illogical in places but never ever less than utterly hypnotic, you REALLY have never seen anything else like it.
DOGMAN marks director Luc Besson’s return to filmmaking after being cleared of all charges of rape that he was accused of by an actor who worked with him on his previous flick VALERIAN AND THE CITY OF A THOUSAND PLANETS. I applaud all involved for creating something truly unique in today’s film landscape and for all its faults it remains mesmerizing throughout. Caleb Landry Jones turns in his best performance to date – he is, for my money, one of the more interesting actors out there today.
WILD THRILLER RELEASED ON BLU-RAY & DIGITAL 11th MARCH
WATCH THE OFFICIAL TRAILER HERE
