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Year Of The Dog [2007] | | |
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Amazon.co.uk Review
Molly Shannon gives a strange and strangely touching performance in Year of the Dog. A quiet secretary named Peggy (Shannon, Superstar, Good Boy!) goes into a tailspin when her beloved dog Pencil dies, leading her to flirt with dating, veganism, animal rights activism, and violence. But though the plot may sound shapeless, the movie is sharp and focused, cutting to the bone of every character's obsessions and neuroses. Yet, though extremely funny, Year of the Dog isn't strictly satirical--writer/director Mike White (writer of The Good Girl and Chuck & Buck) doesn't pass judgment on his characters, no matter how irrational or appalling their behaviour may be. The movie has a cool empathy, a wistful yet unsparing glance at human weakness. The entire cast--which includes Laura Dern (We Don't Live Here Anymore), John C. Reilly (Boogie Nights), Regina King (Ray), and Peter Sarsgaard (Boys Don't Cry)--walk a fine line between painfully real and comically absurd. Fans of distinctive directors like Don Roos (The Opposite of Sex, Happy Endings) and Todd Solondz (Happiness, Storytelling) will enjoy Year of the Dog. --Bret Fetzer
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| Customer Reviews:
 An absolute must-see for dog people February 27, 2008
G. Thomas (Canterbury UK)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Here's a very brave and distinctly laudable attempt to show one of life's misunderstood and less mundane paths.
Without revealing any plot points it's safe to say that Peggy (Molly Shannon)is one of those people who relate more to animals than to people.
Within this film all the subsidiary characters doggedly follow their own narrow lifestyle choices as "worker-drones", "breeders" or "nestmakers" without even recognising the validity of Peggy's way of being. When disaster strikes all they can do to comfort Peggy is promote their own well-meaning but ultimately alien lifestyle choices with absolutely no real appreciation of what she is actually going through.
Strangely this film is actively promoted as a comedy, even on it's own cover but I feel this stems from a total inability to shoehorn it into any convenient genre cul-de-sac. Be warned, this is not a cosy rom-com or laugh-out-loud throwaway farce. Underneath it is a reasonably serious film making a very valid minority point.
Where this film succeeds is in it's depiction of the lack of understanding of the "herd" for anything but their own selfish needs and how they thoughtlessly devalue, trample or ignore the needs and desires of those who believe that animals are just as important as people.
That's not to say the "animal-folk" are given a free ride here. Peggy makes some dreadful mistakes of judgement and her grief initially spirals into a kind of ill-considered tragi-comic crusade. Well intentioned she may be but she's also irresponsible and rash.
It's really refreshing to see this kind of character given a sympathetic treatment within a movie for once and not just relegated to the usual cameo or supporting role as the wacky or nutty friend.
I found that elements of the "comedy" jarred slightly within the context of the rest of the film and I felt that maybe the film stops slightly too short of taking a much braver stand. Ultimately, maybe this a good thing and that stops it becoming too preachy but it's still the reason for the missing 1 star.
Overall: A film for animal-people, especially a film for dog-people and one that offers something pretty much unique in today's cinema.
Just make sure that you're willing to get hurt along the way.
An Important Film September 2, 2008
Truman A Ripley (London UK)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Although billed as a comedy The Year of the Dog is not an easy film to watch. Saying that, it is a truly unusual film and is impossible to catagorize. The situation and the characters are deceptively commonplace but the subject matter is one that I don't believe has ever been so closely examined before in a film. The main character is a woman (fabulous central performance from Molly Shannon) who relates to and loves animals at least equally if not more than her fellow two-legged creatures. Actually she only truly realises and accepts this fact as the film unfolds. There are comic moments but ultimately The Year of the Dog is a truly thought-provoking, albeit uncomfortable piece of cinema and I believe an important film for people to see.
 A very poor film!!! April 13, 2008
Darren Sewell
0 out of 5 found this review helpful
Please do not waste your time watching this film. We wanted to see it after seeing the films trailer. As it turns out the 40 second trailer had all the best bits and the rest of the film is really boring.
Even my wife who normally likes this kind of film suggested we turn it off half way through. We didnt and endured the film until the end hoping it would improve. Needless to say it doesnt.
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