Dogman (2018) User Reviews

Italy is a country full of stories

[nikxatz · 8/10 · 3 February 2019]

This is a small but lovely and dark Italian gem. Its such a stylish and well-told story. It feels so iconic and classic and the two leading actors give exceptional and unique performances. I felt invested from the very first minute and the whole movie had a dark charm and told a not-so-important, but thrilling story. There are some elements, like the quirky performance of the leading actor and the impressive storytelling that make this film kind of exceptional. 8/10 Watch it

Man's best friend

[deastman_uk · 6/10 · 1 November 2018]

The desolate beach resort and shady characters, familiar from Gomorrah, plays back drop to the dog man, Marcello, of the title. He is played by the superb Marcello Fonte, who he is directed well in this tale of morality and dog grooming amongst the immoral.

This is not a story of co-dependence; it is a modern story of paths that cross but never synchronise. While Marcello seems to play the inferior to a bully, we learn very quickly that Marcello is not a schlemiel, but I'm wondering if some reviewers missed this. He is the little guy, but in a milieu where the little guy has a valid place.

Problems with the film appear in two areas; Fonte is simply a much better actor than those around him, and the canvas for this film starts to look too small, very quickly. We are given strange bits of wonderful cinematography, before returning to the squalid world of the dog man. This neither serves to make the film seem kooky, or more realistic. Unlike Gomorrah that held an unrelenting documentary eye, this looks like at times a tentative Trainspotting.

There is something good going on here, but it doesn't quite make it's way into a fully fledged film. It engages strongly in parts, but just like the ending, doesn't focus on one thing or the other.

Who is the beast?

[x_manicure_x · 7/10 · 14 August 2021]

At first, "Dogman" tricks you into thinking it is just the usual parable of the oppressor and the oppressed, but as the story progresses, it reveals itself as an equally brutal, ambiguous and fascinating reflection on human instincts and drives. In the end, is it the story of a man who failed to tame the beast? Or is it the story of a beast who kept being loyal to the wrong man until he was inevitably forced to respond to his instincts and finally bite back?

why you should see this film

[trpuk1968 · 10/10 · 2 August 2018]

Marcello Fonte's award winning performance which totally convinces as the doting father dealing coke on the side and in so doing so has made one of his customers, Simone (Edoardo Pesce), a hulking beast of a sociopathic bully, into a true monster. Something utterly devoid of charm, empathy or indeed a single redeeming quality. The 'dogman' however, through his actions, is a morally ambigous character. On the one hand, he's a loving, devoted father to his daughter. He shows a warmth, affection, empathy and understanding towards the dogs in his care, who are sometimes agitated. On the other hand he bears a great deal of responsibility for making Simone into the coke addled monster that he is. Questions are opened up about the nature of evil, how it arises and what it is that prevents evil from taking hold. I think the film invites us to consider what we live our lives for - do we live solely in order to serve ourselves and our narrow interests or do we put aside our selves and try to live for and consider others? How do we deal with the consequences, foreseen or otherwise, of our actions? The direction - use of location, cinematography. This is definitely a movie to see on the big screen, the decrepit sea side resort where the action takes place is packed full of detail this is masterful film making - making full use of the setting to reinforce the interior world of the characters. The sure sign for me of a skilled director is an absence of incidental music - this movie has none, it doesn't need it. The action speaks for itself. It relies upon and allows the audience intelligence to consider what is going on. A magnificently intelligent film about the human condition about how humans allow tyrants to run over them, about power, how power is abused, how we treat those weaker than ourselves. I'll warn there is some stomach churning violence so this might not be a good 'date' movie but if you want a serious and deep film exploring the human condition and masculinity in particular then this one is for you. More questions posed than answers offered... If you're an Italian buff and know your way around the Naples region this will be even more for you, but that said the story could happen anywhere. Saying that suddenly brought to mind Shane Meadows film 'Dead Mans Shoes' which this would sit very nicely with in a double bill. It's quite a different film, with a damaged male protagonist making choices with serious consequences and also a 'revenge' flick. DOGMAN was released in France back in June where I saw it in Italian with French subtitles I speak OK French, not brilliant, there's always stuff you miss but that didn't seem to diminish the impact. I'll finish by saying that despite the dark themes it's not without some sharp humour. ENJOY!

How do we deal with a bully?

[dakjets · 7/10 · 24 February 2021]

Bullying. How do we deal with bullies? This is the main ingredient in this Italian drama. What is the easiest way out when someone is bullying? It is this choice that the main character here is in. The film's main character is in this dilemma, and we follow the discomfort that develops. If you can not solve the problem, is it possible to live with it? The choice the main character here makes is difficult to understand, but still understandable. This makes the film engaging, but it is demanding to watch. We suspect that this will come to a final clarification. And that it will not be pretty. I liked Dogman. Good script, relevant and good acting. But I struggled to understand why the main character made the choices he made. Maybe others interpret it differently?

compelling pathetic character

[SnoopyStyle · 9/10 · 8 February 2020]

Marcello is a timid, weak-minded dog groomer in a lower class neighborhood. He's a loving father and a dog lover. He deals coke to volatile brute Simoncino who terrorizes the neighborhood and never pays for anything. He gets pushed into joining Simoncino in his crime sprees. The situation spirals out of control as Simoncino's relentless brutality is matched only by Marcello's meekness.

Marcello's pathetic nature is a bit frustrating at first. His character becomes very compelling as he gets more complex. He is like a dog mistreated by his violent master. He shows his humanity and his soft nature but he is moulded by his handler. There is a magnetism to his meekness. They are all very compelling characters. Despite his flaws and the inevitable tragedy, one hopes for the best. It's a brilliant character study.

Too burdensome

[akprodromou · 7/10 · 15 December 2018]

Good script (albeit with some narration jumps) production and perfomances but absurdly dramatic to the point that it becomes exhausting.

Emotional

[isaacochoterena · 8/10 · 2 November 2021]

This movie is a portrait of the consequences of making bad decisions in your life despite the fact that you are very lucky.

It is a film with a difficult plot to capture, it is more complex than it is believed. The film very well exposes the main character's reasons that lead him to act that way, it states that sometimes we do not realize what we have and that we do not value it enough, it teaches us that we can make very stupid decisions that affect things that matter to us and that our greed can blind our judgment, hurting ourselves. The film has good acting, good photography, good script, and good production design. The negative aspects are the lack of development of some characters and lack of development explanation of how the protagonist begins to commit illegalities.

With a complex plot, the film manages to expose its message and portray the feelings that a person can have when making poor decisions.

Stray dogs

[papadopoulos-panos · 7/10 · 2 May 2020]

Italy is my idea for the best country in the solar system. The textbook example for finest food, wine, architecture, landscape, culture. Up to the 1970s I could've added cinema to the above reasons for loving Italy. Alas, Italian cinema took a nosedive in the last 3 decades with a few notable exceptions of talented auteurs - Sorrentino, Guadagnino, maybe Moretti.

Which brings me to Dogman's - and Gomorrah's - creator, Matteo Garrone. Garrone's Italy is not the Italy I love. His is an Italy steeped in cruelty, a violent dog-eat-dog arena where survival of the most ruthless is the lay of the land. Dogman is Garrone's unofficial follow-up to Gomorrah, a dark epic of friendship, betrayal, immorality, and, you guessed right, unbridled violence. A movie at once humane and inhumane, and for that reason, a rare treat for the cinephile.

Dogman is a small masterpiece and Garrone is a cane sciolto just like his anti-heroes. And he's one of the great directors of our time.

I'm completely destroyed after watching this film.

[mehobulls · 8/10 · 28 August 2020]

Marcello Fonte is superb as the nuanced, buscemi-ish underdog carrying the literally back-breaking burden of loyalty and friendship in this darkly comic, violent tale of the quest for respect. Sublime photography and production design here but I was left hoping for a little more sweeter justice at the end.

Very simple and poor story , powerful acting

[aramkx · 6/10 · 23 January 2019]

Marcello the dogman is acting superb. His acting is the only strong thing in this movie. How come that in a small deserted and poor village where everyone seems to be a looser are owing dogs ( expensive breads mostly) and bringing them to dog care shop... Very poor and simple story with marcello and simone , slow but still tensed scenes ending with predictable vengeance..

Unlikable Characters and Bone-Headed Decisions Sink This Promising Italian Drama

[roblesar99 · 5/10 · 26 September 2018]

Matteo Garrone's DOGMAN starts off fairly strongly, but it unfortunately runs out of steam before the third act even begins... and then the third act has the gall to conclude with an unsatisfying final shot. I struggle to connect with films that focus on morally reprehensible characters, no matter how well-crafted the films themselves might be (ex. RAGING BULL, GOODFELLAS), and DOGMAN fits right in that category. The film focuses on Marcello, a timid dog groomer regularly accosted by towering neighborhood bully Simone, who starts off as an interesting character thanks to Marcello Fonte's great performance, but by the end of the film I was disillusioned by the character's frustratingly idiotic decisions, as well as Garrone's attempts to make the audience sympathize with a character who wasn't worthy of sympathy. There's a very tricky tightrope that a director and performer must navigate when attempting to create a morally reprehensible character that an audience can still sympathize with. Garrone and Fonte fall off that tightrope about halfway through the film. Just because Marcello cares for his daughter and works as a dog groomer (the dogs are easily the best part of this film) doesn't make him any less of a detestable character, as exemplified by a resoundingly foolish decision he makes at the end of the second act that made my eyes roll so hard I saw the inside of my skull.

I know I've mainly expressed my dislike for DOGMAN so far, but the performances (especially from Fonte and Edoardo Pesce) are great, Nicolai Brüel's cinematography is a delight (I particularly enjoyed how much the takes here were longer than usual), and there's a satisfying streak of dark humor running through it all. That being said, there's just too many bone-headed decisions made throughout the course of the film for me to recommend it.

Outstanding human relationship drama from Italy

[paul-allaer · 8/10 · 8 September 2018]

"Dogman" brings the story of Marcello. As the movie opens, we see Marcello groom a dog in his shop, which is called Dogman. We get to know Marcello, who sells some drugs on the side to make ends meet, and who more than anything care much for his daughter whom he sees occasionally. Among his friends (?) is Simon, a former boxer who terrorizes the neighborhood. Simon "convinces" Marcello to participate in a jewel heist, but when things go wrong, Marcello is picked up by the cops. Marcello refuses to rat out Simon and is sentenced to one year in jail... What will happen when Marcello is released a year later? To tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: this is the latest movie from Matteo Garrone, who previously brought us the excellent mafia drama "Gomorrah". Here he delves into the lives of small crimes, and along the way examines the human condition. Due to the plot-heavy nature of the film, I can't go into much more details, sorry, just take my word for it that this is an intense but very rewarding movie experience. Marcello Fonte is outstanding in the lead role. The photography is excellent as well (the movie was shot in Castel Volturno, just north of Napoli).

"Dogman" premiered at this year's Cannes film festival, to immediate acclaim. Fonte won the Best Actor award. I happen to catch this movie during a recent family visit to Belgium. The early evening screening where I saw this at in Antwerp, Belgium was attended okay (about 15 people). I have no idea if this will reach US theaters, but imagine that if not else, this will be available on VOD and other platforms. If you are interested in a top notch foreign movie about the human conditions, I readily suggest you check this out when you can, and draw your own conclusion.

Had the potential to be a better film...

[mateusolivotti · 6/10 · 19 December 2020]

Dogman is an Italian drama and suspense film released in 2018 and directed by Matteo Garrone. I went to watch the film unpretentiously and without much expectations, and I think it went well, because the film somewhat surprised me (mainly aesthetics). Dogman is a "raw" film, has no soundtrack and expresses the tension of the scenes with some close-ups on the characters, and this is one of the biggest hits of the film. The film has a very realistic and even pessimistic aesthetic, which I like a lot and has a good direction, in addition the violence never forces too much and is quite realistic.

However, as much as the work has many positive points, it also has almost the same amount of negative points. The characters are extremely shallow and have no depth, with the exception of the protagonist played by Marcello Fonte, who, despite having a good character construction and development, the actor bothered me a little, at certain times when the character should express anger or outrage, and the actor can't express any of those feelings, I honestly don't know if this is a fault of the director or the actor, but it bothers a little bit anyway. As for Edoardo Pesce (Simone) he delivers what the script needs, which is basically a generic bully, and this shows once again how shallow the characters are and a very strong script flaw in this regard. In addition, the film has at least five minutes more than necessary, if it had cut a little earlier it could present a better and less "strange" and "disconnected" ending, if I can describe it that way.

Dogman is a nice film, cinematographically very good and with a tone that perfectly matches the story, however the script presents serious problems in terms of depth and a certain "block" of the actors and the director. An average movie, but in general a cool and very different film.

An Italian gem, no doubt about it.

[searchanddestroy-1 · 10/10 · 12 July 2018]

First, let's say that's definitely not a crime movie, but a pure drama. The tale of a poor man, specialized in dogs, cleaning dogs, hair dressing dogs, dog toiletting, this kind of stuff. But also a petty drug pusher, a sort of dope provider for the local punks. One of them is a f...nasty, brutal SOB, the kind of character whose any audience wish to see burned, killed, car crashed, short or long range shot with a Weatherby 460...A disgusting punk who abuses anyone besides him. And of course our lead is not the latest to endure the - maybe - nastier SOB in movie history. So every one in the audience waits for our poor dude to take revenge. We have already seen this before. This could be a Netflix topic, I mean not for large audiences, not for sissies eating the poultry with the whole family, but this is damn, efficient. Only misses the "prison" sequence of our lead character, the perfect anti hero. This could have been very interesting to see him behind bars, how he behaves with the other inmates, the kind of guys very the same as the lead motherf....But that would have made a three hour feature. Or at least a mini series. yes, that's it. This movie should have been a mini series. Anyway, this is a true masterpiece.

Hard to watch, but . . .

[jeff-2051 · 7/10 · 27 July 2022]

It's well worth the effort. I understand some of the low reviews, but not the logic. This a well written, acted, directed, and photographed film. The violence that some cite as a reason to dislike it confuses me in the "post-John Wick" era. There was more blood and pain in the first 15-minutes of any of those films than the entirety of this piece. Ignore the haters.

Supreme unpleasantness

[clanciai · 8/10 · 2 November 2021]

It's very understandable that so many reviewers of this film make a statement that they can't recommend this film to anyone. It's almost an orgy of sado-masochism, where a little humble man with a daughter making his living on taking care of dogs is harassed by the supreme local bully, who terrorizes the entire district, an almost surrealistic desolation of a human slum district in the Naples area, that just couldn't be more dreary. He tries in vain to compromise with the bully by serving him, which he never should have done in the first place, because it only worsens the trouble. The final settlement is a grotesque monstrosity of a disposal vying with the most atrocious finales of Visconti in explicit realism. The case of Marcello is and will always remain a puzzle, why did he at all try to compromise with such an obvious criminal maniac, you just don't compromise with terrorists, which will only eventually turn you one of them. The film is horribly realistic all the way, and it's difficult to see that anything good could come out of it, and we never learn what trials Marcello will encounter next.

neo-western with strong bite

[axapvov · 7/10 · 30 May 2022]

Set in a sunny italian town by the sea, something's off from the beginning. This seaside looks like the back of something rather than the front. A struggling place in a corner of the world, without many options to make ends meet. A loyal, good-spirited man must handle a befriended neighbor who happens to be the meanest brute. The stakes are high, and choices will have consequences. His inner psychology is kept ambiguous enough for the viewer to speculate about his motivations or moral guides, and all the implications of good and evil.

Beyond Gary Cooper and Clint Eastwood, we see more and more films in a similar spirit with modern settings and a common man as the protagonist, unprepared, unwilling, unable for the fight. This serves well the narrative of high-stakes good versus evil, and the cost of bad actions on the self, what fights and sacrifices are ultimately worth the pain. It serves as well the action and style, as things get messy and unpredictable. In this, things can become tremendously tense.

Very strong leading acting, well achieved atmosphere, it is a simple film but indeed it has a very strong bite to it.

Tense and gripping

[Abdulxoxo · 8/10 · 6 January 2021]

This movie is really well done. It's an intense and gripping crime drama with a really strong dramatic narrative thread. The characters and their motives are somewhat puzzling especially the Marcello's, his decisions don't make much sense but Marcello Fonte's performance makes it believable that he's a guy who lets his heart lead the way more than his brain. While the film presents an interesting premise that's well constructed during the first two acts, the film loses its way somewhat in the final 20 minutes, with the script searching for an unusual and plausible way of bringing the story to a conclusion. It touches on themes like conflict, trust and betrayal. The cinematography is very good, as it captures the bleakness, colorless and depressing vibe of the local town.

Overall, this is a good character study of what bullying can do when the bullied person has had enough. The performances are strong, the technical aspects are all terrific.

Interesting but unpleasant

[foxtografo · 6/10 · 2 September 2019]

The movie starts off very interesting, the cinematography stands out form the first scenes and the atmosphere is set perfectly. The characters are very well portrayed, with great performances on main and secondary actors, and the situation grows in tension scene by scene. We can see what's coming, there's no other way things can go and you still wait for something else to happen, some twist, some closure, but that's all, the predictable ending that you've been expecting almost from the beginning of the movie is there and nothing else. That was very disappointing for me. Characters are not the likeable kind, but as the movie presents them it's easy to understand why things happen and why the characters do what they do, still, there should have been something else at the end, some redemption, something unexpected, something to close the movie in an interesting way, as interesting as it began.

A crude, intense movie about human despair, sapiently directed and with superb acting performance

[gcarpiceci · 5/10 · 13 July 2018]

Dogman is a movie about the perennial fight between good and evil, stage in a forgotten, surreal suburb in the Rome province. Its population is a small working class community living life on the edge between legality and small criminality, with the common goal of surviving another day. In this context Marcello, a dog sitter, is a child like soul, bullied by the thug of the quarter, Simone; Marcello loves his dogs, loves his job, loves his daughter and desperately tries to love life, hoping against hope that he will be able to get away with his thousands subterfuges. Marcello is no hero, he's actually a weakling, a coward, and when he finds the strength not to betray it will be for the wrong person. In the end, in his long struggle for survival and for hope, he will discover the ultimate courage to try and win evil through evil, just to discover that that will be his final road to an infinite loneliness. Dogman is a crude, intense movie, well directed with sapient camera movements, where the solo performance of Marcello stands out with his magnificent facial and eyes expressions.

An emotionally bruising vision of uncommonly visceral power

[Weirdling_Wolf · 8/10 · 23 April 2023]

Like a nihilistic, anti-'Of Mice and Men', Matteo Garrone's 'Dogman' is an unflinchingly tough, brutalist character study of two disparate men bound in an increasingly toxic partnership. While the diminutive, Marcello (Marcello Fonte) is a doting father and a meticulous, empathic dog-groomer, he is also a small time drug dealer who becomes fatefully dominated by hulking halfwit hoodlum, the neighbourhood terrorizing tyrant, Simone(Edoardo Pesce). Foolhardily running risky errands for, Simone whose forceful demands for free cocaine escalates to violence. The amiable, Marcello, once a jocular, well liked member of the close-nit working-class community is ostracized due to his ill-judged servitude to the vile, bullish, psychotically larcenous thug. Without a shred of humanity, Simone continues to cruelly subjugate the weaker, misguided Marcello, quite literally keeping him under his elephantine, blood-smeared thumb. 'Dogman' almost immediately puts your nerves on a razor's edge, and even if it were not based on a true story, the actions of these two tormented souls has the feral stink of truth about it.

Their criminally uneasy alliance leads inexorably to a devastating life-altering crisis, wherein, Marcello's moral turpitude, and total submission to the maniacal might of, Simone fatefully turns him into a corrupted stooge, a social pariah, an outcast. Observing the pitiless, arbitrary manner of, Marcello's destruction is an uneasy experience. He is certainly not without blame, the morality of Marcello's mercenary activities are entirely questionable, and yet, he remains a sympathetic figure. Marcello's stupidity and conspicuous weakness are ultimately forgivable, but, Simone's shameless brutality is truly reprehensible. Matteo Garrone's searingly unsentimental drama is an emotionally bruising vision of uncommonly visceral power, the sordid world of 'Dogman', while prosaic, is wholly credible, and the banality of evil it contains rings uncomfortably true. The stark climax is exhausting, like some forgotten parable from an especially grisly gnostic text, the desperate sight of, Marcello's haunted visage is not one easily erased!

I don't get all the critics and reviews, it's an OKAY film. Nothing too special.

[zhu-54309 · 6/10 · 6 February 2020]

The acting is pretty good, most actors did a good job, even though I could tell some aren't professional actors, and they still did a good job. The director did a good job in pre production.

Story-wise, it's okay. Simple concept and characters while the storyline lack of a bit of structure and twists that are driven by the characters.

Overall, it's an average "movie" out there. Nothing too extraordinary to me. Okay to watch.

Powerful human interest story

[ahoen · 9/10 · 10 September 2018]

Superb casting and photography by Garrone. Must see imho because the line between good and bad is not as sharp as black and white. Grey is the dominant colour even in the beautiful surroundings of Caste Volturno. Marcello Fonte deserves an award for his performance as dog groomer, father and criminal victim.

Strong performance and visuals, but, story issues

[gortx · 14 April 2019]

Director Matteo Garrone's (REALITY) latest is a morose story about a diminutive Dog Groomer (the shop is called Dogman) Marcello (Marcello Fonte) in a desolate poor Italian town outside Naples. The populace is menaced by a brutish thug Simoncino (Edoardo Pesce), who, takes particular advantage of the meek Marcello, including involving the Dogman as an unwitting partner in his petty crimes. Fonte is superb as the title character, imbuing the part with a depth of feeling that, frankly, isn't on the page (Garrone is the co-writer along with frequent collaborators Ugo Chiti and Massimo Guadioso). We fleetingly see Marcello's ex-wife, and his precocious daughter, but, never get much detail into what makes the character tick. His interactions with the other townspeople is similarly thinly sketched. Even the Dogman aspect isn't really developed, despite a good amount of screen time is spent between Marcello and the canines. They add color, but, end up only having thin symbolic import. Truth be told, Garrone's strength isn't as a story-teller. Even his magnificent GOMORRAH was more of a docudrama told with a God's POV where the Camora crime syndicate was the "lead character". (It has spun off onto a continuing TV series without Garrone's involvement). Where Garrone excels is his visual sense. His previous picture, TALE OF TALES, was one of the best looking productions of 2016. Too bad it had the briefest of theatrical showings and was mostly seen via streaming on the small screen. One gets a real feel for the location, as if one had spent much more time there than the run time of a feature film. The other tech credits are in proper service. Despite its strong lead performance and its universal theme of the little guy standing up to a bully, DOGMAN is a disappointment, even if a compelling one in parts.