Dogman
The two films of Matteo Garrone’s that I’ve seen- this and his acclaimed, “Gomorrah”- both deal with low-level criminals, and paint a very different portrait of Italian crime than “The Godfather” and Scorsese films do. The people in charge on these streets don’t go around in expensive suits but regular clothes, so they assimilate into society better. This isn’t about crime in the big cities, however, but rather, the people on the outskirts, in what appear to be impoverished parts of town, and everybody basically knows what anyone is doing. “Dogman” doesn’t look at that culture, though, but one particular story, and it’s an engaging one, to be sure, but it doesn’t slam me against the wall like it wants me to.
“Dogman” is the name of the film, and also the dog grooming shop run by Marcello (Marcello Fonte) in a tourist town. The neighborhood he’s in is pretty poor, but he makes an ok living, has dogs he grooms at dog shows, and is able to give his daughter, Alida (Alida Baldari Calabria), trips for the two of them. While his grooming business does alright, he makes money in other ways, as well, and that includes selling drugs to local thugs like Simoncino (Edoardo Pesce), a former boxer with a violent streak. The two are buds, in a way, but it’s more than Simoncino takes advantage of Marcello, and Marcello passively agrees to let him because he knows the consequences. One particular favor Simoncino asks of Marcello, however, puts this likable dog groomer into a position that could make his life outside of a prison cell awkward, even if it’s the best thing to do.
Garrone’s films have a personality to them by how they don’t feel like narratives, but documentaries, in how he fills them, and the people he gets to play these roles. Not one of the actors in “Dogman” looks like they’re acting; they look like they are living their lives, and are people we would see on the streets of Italy if we were to ever go there. This not only makes the film feel authentic, but the relationships between the characters. Marcello and Alida feel like a real father and daughter, and the two have a sweet and emotional connection that the movie needs, and Marcello and Simoncino’s relationship feels like many such relationships we’ve probably seen in our lives, and that’s important for how the film unfolds. Pesce is ferocious in the role, and as the film goes on, and Marcello’s fate seems more intertwined with Simoncino’s, he and Fonte’s dynamics begin to shift and lead to some brutal confrontations that Garrone directs like a punch to the gut. “Dogman” doesn’t really have much to hang its hat on, but the what it does very well is either sweet or savage. There is not really a middle ground.
