Year of the Dog
Mike White makes a wonderful directorial debut with this wonderful little film (and he also wrote the screenplay). And all of this actors are terrific as well. But be warned - this is not a laugh out loud comedy. Yes, there are some very funny moments. But there are also times that you will feel tears coming on.
Peggy is a single woman approaching middle age. She lives with her beloved dog Pencil. Peggy is a good friend, employee, sister, aunt, etc. She even has to listen to her boss Robin's (Josh Pais) ramblings on how he didn't get a big enough bonus. However, she seems content with her life as it is. Then one day Pencil wanders off to a neighbor's yard and ingests poison and dies. Peggy's world is turned upside down. Her brother (Tom McCarthy) and sister in law Bret (Laura Dern) try to console her but to no avail. Her friend and workmate Layla (a very funny Regina King) tells her that it is now time to find herself a man. Peggy's neighbor Al, played by John C. Reilly (his is the yard that Pencil ate the poison) feels guilty and takes her out to dinner. But when she visits his house she finds it filled with moose heads, etc. (he is a hunter) and gets very turned off. Then in a turn of events Newt (Peter Sarsgaard), who works at the Humane Society hospital where Pencil died, calls her up and tells her that it just might be time for her to get another dog. And this is where Peggy's life really changes. She becomes vegan and becomes aware of animal cruelty on the dinner table, in the laboratories and in the clothing industry.
Year of the Dog is above all a film about finding yourself. Peggy makes the mistake of becoming overzealous after she makes all of these discoveries (that happens to many people). There a few things that she should not have done. But in the end she finds peace in herself and what she decides to do. And she does not rely on a man for her bliss.
As a devout vegetarian and animal lover I really related to this film. And I liked the fact that White used a middle aged woman as the person coming of age (we usually see teenagers as the focus in this type of story). And I just read that White is a vegan which makes me admire him
even more. I highly recommend this film to all animal lovers and sensitive people everywhere.
Peggy is a single woman approaching middle age. She lives with her beloved dog Pencil. Peggy is a good friend, employee, sister, aunt, etc. She even has to listen to her boss Robin's (Josh Pais) ramblings on how he didn't get a big enough bonus. However, she seems content with her life as it is. Then one day Pencil wanders off to a neighbor's yard and ingests poison and dies. Peggy's world is turned upside down. Her brother (Tom McCarthy) and sister in law Bret (Laura Dern) try to console her but to no avail. Her friend and workmate Layla (a very funny Regina King) tells her that it is now time to find herself a man. Peggy's neighbor Al, played by John C. Reilly (his is the yard that Pencil ate the poison) feels guilty and takes her out to dinner. But when she visits his house she finds it filled with moose heads, etc. (he is a hunter) and gets very turned off. Then in a turn of events Newt (Peter Sarsgaard), who works at the Humane Society hospital where Pencil died, calls her up and tells her that it just might be time for her to get another dog. And this is where Peggy's life really changes. She becomes vegan and becomes aware of animal cruelty on the dinner table, in the laboratories and in the clothing industry.
Year of the Dog is above all a film about finding yourself. Peggy makes the mistake of becoming overzealous after she makes all of these discoveries (that happens to many people). There a few things that she should not have done. But in the end she finds peace in herself and what she decides to do. And she does not rely on a man for her bliss.
As a devout vegetarian and animal lover I really related to this film. And I liked the fact that White used a middle aged woman as the person coming of age (we usually see teenagers as the focus in this type of story). And I just read that White is a vegan which makes me admire him
even more. I highly recommend this film to all animal lovers and sensitive people everywhere.
posted by Film Fanatic | 2:24 PM
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