Plenty of bones to chew on in Tatum’s engaging dog tale
Dog (M, 101 mins) Directed by Reid Carolin Reviewed by Graeme Tuckett ★★★ 1⁄
2
I’ll always love that moment when I realise the film I am watching is doing just a little more, a little better, than the poster and the trailer had led me to expect.
I have seen the short for Dog a few times in the past month and it didn’t promise anything more than a road-trip comedy played out between Channing Tatum’s exarmy ranger and a recalcitrant hound that Tatum has been ordered to drive from Washington State to Arizona, in time for the dog to be seen at the funeral of its former owner.
The dog’s owner was also a ranger, but he has been killed stateside in a car accident – and the family is keen for his ‘‘best friend’’ to be at the graveside. The only trouble is that the dog – Lulu – is a traumatised veteran herself who refuses to let anyone come near her. Not even a once-trusted friend like Tatum’s Jackson Briggs.
So, Dog will unfold, we are assured, as a comedy about two outsiders – one man, one dog – helping to heal each other and to learn how to trust in humanity again. And, yes, Dog does achieve all of that.
But what surprised me about Dog is just how intelligently and insightfully it walks its welltrodden path. And how moving and engaging the movie occasionally allows itself to become.
With Dog, that ‘‘relax, this is going to be an OK film’’ moment arrived very early. As soon as John Prine and Kurt Vile’s rendition of Prine’s How Lucky started over the opening credits, I figured Dog was in safe hands.
You simply don’t choose a song that honest, witty and heartfelt to introduce your film, unless you have the ears to hear it and the heart to appreciate it.
Director Reid Carolin is better known as a writer and producer. He is credited on both of Tatum’s Magic Mike films, which, like Dog, turned out to be just a little more than what the poster was promising.
It never threatens to become any sort of gritty drama, but Dog does have some things to say about the ongoing trauma of PTSD and head injuries in the military, as well as the United States’ shabby treatment of the impoverished young women and men who volunteered – often out of financial need – to be sent into harm’s way and then found themselves discarded and ignored on their return home, as unwelcome reminders of failed policies and ideologies.
Tatum is reliably excellent here. As with many actors who got their early breaks being not much more than somewhere to temporarily hang a shirt, it is too easy to underestimate his actual range and the quiet authority he can bring to a well-written scene.
The other undisputed stars will be the three belgian malinois dogs who collectively play Lulu, the troubled beast of the title.
Dog is a pleasant surprise.
It will succeed just fine as an undemanding Friday night out for anyone who just wants a few laughs and a decent yarn populated by likeable and relatable characters. But it is also a pretty well-done example of a film that strives to be and to do more than it really had to.
There is some heart here – and a few bones to chew on. Recommended.
Dog is now screening in cinemas nationwide.