This 7st weakling will make you happier than a dog with two tails
Dogman (15) Verdict: An Italian treat
IF EVER there was an antidote to the seductive concept of la
dolce vita, it’s this brilliant Italian-language film from accomplished director Matteo Garrone, set in a desperately down-at-heel town where the rain never seems to stop.
I first saw it at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, where, in my view, it comfortably deserved (though didn’t win) the main prize: the coveted Palme d’Or.
Garrone’s previous film, 2015’s Tale Of Tales, was a sumptuous fantasy. Dogman is the exact opposite, an unvarnished, slice-of-life drama about a weedy little man called Marcello, who runs the local dog-grooming parlour. Marcello is played beautifully by Marcello Fonte, who did win at Cannes, as best actor.
His character is a fundamentally decent fellow, devoted to his daughter, but practically the definition of hangdog and catastrophically in thrall to the town bully, an appalling brute called Simoncino. This tyrant all but destroys Marcello’s life, and the narrative pivots around the question of whether the 7st weakling will finally hit back. It’s a moving, funny, compelling film, among the best I’ve seen all year.