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Dog Eat Dog Review

By David Kempler

Little Dogs Yapping

Paul Schrader, the esteemed filmmaker who is most famous for directing and writing "American Gigolo" and penning "Taxi Driver" and "Raging Bull", has a new art house kind of pic about three small-time criminals trying to become three big-time criminals. The fact that all three have real psychological problems makes it unlikely they will succeed.

In "Dog Eat Dog," Troy (Nicolas Cage), Mad Dog (Willem Dafoe), and Diesel (Christopher Matthew Cook) are the career criminals bent on raising the stakes to get the big score. We meet Mad Dog first when he does some coke and heroin and then proceeds to murder his girlfriend and her daughter. While this is obviously scary stuff, Schrader plays it with a layer of deeply dark black humor. This tenor permeates the entire film.

Diesel is the big muscle guy in the trio. Troy is their leader, for lack of a better word to describe him. He is every bit as nuts as the other two, but he dresses a bit nicer and also serves as the narrator. Troy is fascinated with Humphrey Bogart and often breaks into a decidedly bad impression of Bogie even when he is committing his miscreant crimes. Why does he do that? I think it's because anything quirky that can be tossed into the soup will be thrown out there. Quirkiness is a plus when surrounded by coherence. By itself, it's a diversion from a lack of meatiness, and that just isn't enough.

Dog_Eat_Dog2.jpg

"Dog Eat Dog" is a fun watch because it's all over the place with a jarring visual aesthetic that matches both the plot and the characters. However, it's also something that is difficult to get vested in, from a story and character perspective. There's really no one to root for and, considering the heinous acts committed by the three gangsters, there's no one to really even like very much either. In the end, you just don't care that much about anything or anyone. That's okay, I guess, but it doesn't make for compelling entertainment. It's like a little yappy dog. Lots of bark and very little bite.

What did you think?

Movie title Dog Eat Dog
Release year 2016
MPAA Rating R
Our rating
Summary Paul Schrader's latest isn't a career highlight, but it has some fun moments.
View all articles by David Kempler
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