Bordering on being so bleak, it could become inaccessible, Dogman challenges its audience to find the humanity in its flawed characters. Marcello Fonte won the 2018 Cannes Film Festival Best Actor award for his lead role as Marcello, the man who has a way with animals but not so much with human beings.
He runs a pet grooming business in a dilapidated seaside resort and shares his life with his dogs, a daughter from a previous relationship and the town bully, Simoncino, played with blunt force by Edoardo Pesce. Simone is very much a loose cannon and he draws Marcello into a series of illegal activities.
Circling around Simone like a moth to flame, their relationship is an odd one and is never fully explained. Being forced to engage in a robbery of an adjoining business, it leads to Marcello getting caught, put in jail and becoming ostracised from the fellow business owners.
Dogman is not an easy watch and its presentation of life without hope gives the audience no easy escape. It forces you to see past the cliche and imagine a life devoid of optimism. In this non-elevated state you will see humanity at its rawest.
Rob Hudson
www.palacefilms.com.au
