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@there_willbe_spoilers
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Dogman is surprisingly gripping.
It's a simple tale. An impoverished dog groomer working in an equally dilapidated town makes ends meet by selling cocaine on the side. When an old and aggressive acquaintance returns and begins to terrorise the town, his life is flipped upside down.
Marcello Fonte plays the aptly named Marcello or 'Dogman' so well that really this is his film. When we first meet him he is a scrawny and timid character, trying to stay out of trouble and enjoy what he has.
When Simoncino turns up (back from prison and not a pleasant man), Marcello is bullied into submission over and over. At first he is intimidated into giving him free cocaine, but soon he is bullied into driving a getaway car after a burglary and then helping him get access to the cocaine suppliers (resulting in some extreme violence)
Marcello hates the things Simincino makes him do but when the rest of the town conspire to kill him or 'put him down', Marcello takes pity on him like an unloved dog that's lashing out at the World around him.
And like an unloved dog, he can be tamed and controlled. Over the course of the film there's a sense that Marcello is enjoying some of the power his new friend brings him and so he begins to try and tame him, to show Simincino that he is the master and Simincino is the dog, leading to a very dark ending.
The back and forth between the two characters, driven by the brilliant performance from Marcello Fonte, is what makes Dogman so gripping. Each altercarion is unpredictable and tense, making for an effective thriller that will keep you glued until the credits roll.
The film is also beautifully shot, so cinematic I wish I'd seen this on the big screen. However, there's not much to chew on afterwards really; it's a dark tale well told but doesn't offer much in the way of ideas or themes.
Overall I'd say it's worth anyone's time. Though it may be a little bit shallow it has enough bite to really dig into your skin and leave a mark.
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