“Dogman”, Excessive Fable on Resilience

As a preface to Dogman, Luc Besson inserts Lamartine‘s phrase Wherever there is an unhappy man, God sends a dog, to tell the story of an abused boy, who was locked up by his violent father in a cage with dogs. In the latest film by the director of Lucy (2014), which premiered at the last Venice Film Festival, the young Douglas finds salvation thanks to his four-legged friends who will end up being his own family, where he will discover affection, turning them —through almost supernatural training— into a gang of accomplices for his interests.

The director, who seems to absolve his protagonist, uses the story Douglas tells a psychiatrist about his life’s vicissitudes to recount in the first person an amazing life. Besson does not hesitate to use all the resources to weave a kaleidoscopic fable that overwhelms us with the multiple themes it explores and its changes of register within the framework of a psychological thriller. In this way, he questions us about what the abuses of society mean for the formation of a sensitive being who is a victim of paralysis.

It achieves this in its typically redundant style and relies heavily on Caleb Landry Jones‘ superb performance, undoubtedly the film’s most accomplished aspect. However, the message is too comforting; the magnanimous “monster” – in his transformer phase he imitates Edith Piaf, perfectly simulates Marlene Dietrich‘s Lili Marlene and helps the poor – lacks contradictions and true ambiguity, leaving us with an image, especially in the final part, of Christological depth that fails to reach the strength of other similar figures already encountered in film history.

Douglas’ charisma, conveyed by the actor’s gaze, whether helpless or assertive, is the best asset of a film that surprises us until we accept that what we are watching is a Dickensian fable. Dogman is a film that is all the more enjoyable the lower the expectations we place on its viewing, allowing us to delight in the eventful adventures, the tale of resilience and acceptance, as an entertaining vehicle for a tender story. However, anyone who doesn’t like so much strangeness, bewilderment, and implausible hyperbole will suffer from an unbearable cocktail that may verge on the ridiculous. Besson is committed to directing a very personal work, albeit a reiterative and at times even trickily poignant one, but his originality and risk-taking deserve at least a pass.