Luc Besson and Caleb Landry Jones team up for the soon-to-be cult classic Dogman.
Writer/Director Luc Besson has made films that defy logic and rationality. The Big Blue is a free deep-dive movie and love story between a man and a dolphin. Angel-A is a crime thriller and ethereal mediation of Angels and fate. So, it should come as no surprise that Dogman is both a superhero/super-villain origin story as well as an account of forgotten souls. A spiritual cousin of sorts to a film Besson produced, Danny the Dog (aka Unleashed as it was called when it was released in the States). Caleb Landry Jones aids with his big swing performance that is sure to divide audiences.
Douglas (Landry Jones) has been arrested and detained for a 72-hour psych hold as the authorities figure out what has happened and if he’s fit to be prosecuted. The police have brought in social worker Evelyn (Jojo T. Gibbs). Douglas is more than willing to tell her how he got to where he is. As much as a confession as it is Douglas’ own testament to who he was and who he became. A child who was rejected at every turn found abuse at the hands of his family and neglect from a system that was indifferent. The one constant is the companionship of the dogs that have been abused and neglected just like him.
Make no mistake, Dogman is about as subtle as a sledgehammer to the face. Besson’s film gives zero … you know what … about bringing anyone into its world. Dogman requires you to meet it on its terms. Those terms are a harsh world of almost delirious violence and religious fervor. One where a kid is thrown into a dog kennel by his father, and his mother’s response is to leave the entire family. This is not a film that believes in society or people.
In fact, the only bit of society that Besson’s film feels is any sort of compassion is the Transgender community. It’s here where Besson’s film finds its character’s purpose and poise. These are the trickier moments within the film that confront roles in society that may rub people the wrong way. Though Besson never makes anyone during these moments a joke but rather a warm welcoming family that Douglas is brought into. The moments could have been expounded upon as this is the most fascinating part of the film. There is definitely a European sensibility at play here, with these characters thankfully never victimized or props for mission statements.
Opinions and views of the film will rest on one’s feelings towards the performance of Landry Jones as Douglas. There is a fragility that Landry Jones plays with that never feels like victimization. Rather, the character of Douglas has been beaten at every turn by society and finds solace and companionship elsewhere. Some will see this as treading on similar grounds that Todd Phillip’s Joker went over but Landry Jones’s performance and Besson’s movie are entirely different and without the “ick” of that film. For all of its violence (and there is quite a bit, thankfully no violence towards dogs) the film and Landry Jones are less combative and ugly.
Dogman is definitely a unique cinematic experience. One that viewers will embrace or reject with no in-between.