01/09/2023 - VENICE 2023: Luc Besson shows you can teach an old dog new tricks with his twisted, fun, crazy film – and he might even bring you some flour

Caleb Landry Jones in Dogman

Luc Besson has just reminded everyone what madness looks like, returning with Dogman [+see also:
trailer
film profile], a film that’s twisted, fun and basically proves that Beethoven for adults would be a very good idea. Maybe that’s what Gary Oldman meant when he was famously ranting in Léon: The Professional. All these dogs, they just get your juices flowing.

Inspired by an article about an abused child forced to live in a cage, the film, which has screened in the Venice Film Festival competition, has Caleb Landry Jones dealing with trauma, accepting rejection, listening to Edith Piaf and exacting revenge alongside his four-legged army. For a story that’s so disturbing, Besson still allows himself to go apeshit crazy: you come for a dark tale of redemption, and you leave having witnessed dog versions of some of the best Home Alone stunts. At times, it feels like a children’s film that got hijacked as a cruel prank. At others, it breaks hearts.

There is something similar to Todd Phillips’ Joker going on here, also in Landry Jones’ performance. Not just because of that pale make-up he puts on before he hits the stage, one of the few moments when his wheelchair-bound character, an aspiring drag queen-turned-criminal mastermind, seems to be truly happy. Maybe they’re similar because, once again, you have to crawl through all the reminders of how horrifying this world can be and how easy it is to actually break a person, before you get to the fun stuff.

Because that’s what Dogman is, by some miracle: an entertaining, weird movie made by a man fascinated by violence, by darkness, yet showing exactly what you can and cannot get away with. This might be the right moment to mention that the animals are fine in this film: Besson still knows the rules. Human characters, not so much. But they usually have it coming.

Not all of the actors seem to understand this universe, clearly uneasy when stiffly chit-chatting about chili, and nothing can prepare the audience for all of the carefully choreographed – and hilarious – canine action scenes. But it never goes full parody, mostly because of the pain and regret everyone carries around with them, and Caleb Landry Jones, who talks to dogs and to God, and recites Shakespeare with the exact same intensity. He is so good, so seductive, that you barely notice he is in dishevelled Marilyn Monroe drag for a big chunk of the film.

He makes this whole furry mess almost believable and deeper than it has any right to be. So does Jojo T Gibbs, already so memorable in Fresh, as one of the few people who have shown this loner some kindness, or even just took time to listen. There is a mention here that if you can play Shakespeare, you can play anything. The same could be said for a thriller based on a horrifying true story, where dogs understand what plain flour is and help you bake a cake, so one can only imagine what these two will do next. First Barbie, now this. Welcome to the era of crazy.

Dogman was written by Luc Besson, and is a French production staged by LBP, Europacorp and TF1 Films Production. Its world sales are handled by Kinology.

Photogallery 31/08/2023: Venice 2023 - Dogman

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Luc Besson, Caleb Landry Jones, Jonica T. Gibbs, Virginie Besson-Silla, Grace Palma, Katya Zvereva, Thalia Besson, Mao Besson, Sateen Besson, Vincent Pérez, Karine Silla
© 2023 Fabrizio de Gennaro for Cineuropa - fadege.it, @fadege.it