Year of the Dog [DVD] [2007] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

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.

Peggy is a seemingly contented single thirty-something, easygoing in nature and happy at work as an office secretary to a department head. She may not have the career she always dreamed of, a steady boyfriend, been married or had children of her own. But none of this bothers her; she has her health, a stable job, a nice home and Pencil her beloved pet dog.
Pencil is foundation of Peggy's life, a sweet natured constant companion and source of unconditional love, but Pencil runs away in the night Peggy discovers him seriously ill in a neighbour's garden the next morning and after rushing him to a local animal hospital he sadly dies. Finding herself without Pencil leaves Peggy feeling lost, lonely and unhappy with life and suddenly realising that she has been all these things for years.
When a member of staff from the animal hospital named Newt calls out of the blue and talks Peggy into homing a German shepherd with behaviour problems, she begins a relationship in which she adopts many of Newt's beliefs which includes becoming a vegan. And it's not long before she immerses herself in the world of animal rights which rapidly takes over her life and ultimately leads her down a path to self destruction.
This is another film which is strangely labelled as a comedy, and has a trailer that cherry picks the most light-hearted and quirky moments in the film, when in fact it's quite a dark, poignant and often uncomfortable tale of a women desperate to find some meaning in her life and is very similar in tone to Mike White's earlier film `Chuck and Buck'. One thing I did particularly like about this film was the touching element of understanding and forgiveness given to Peggy; even though her actions often upset and isolate her from those close to her they are unconditionally ready to provide help and support and the ending of the film leaves you questioning whether the life choices Peggy makes are for the better or worse.
If you enjoyed Mike White's earlier film `Chuck and Buck', Todd Solondz films like `Welcome To The Dollhouse' and `Palindromes' and Michael Cuesta's '12 and Holding' then this is well worth watching.

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.