The Dog Stars Review
The Dog Stars is a Ridley Scott on auto-pilot; without the time and effort to really evoke the mood needed.
After a virus wipes out much of humanity, the remnants face roving bands of criminals called Reapers. Hig (Jacob Elordi), a one-time mechanic and pilot, lives on an abandoned airfield with his dog and a military minded compatriot Bangley (Josh Brolin), along with his dog Jasper. But up in the skies, the distant calls of civilisation echo for the grief-stricken Hig, and when a tragedy befalls the group, he decides to see what remains of civilisation.
Ridley Scott is well-known for being a quick shooter. One or two takes a scene, multi-cameras used to speed up setups and reduce the need for decisions on set. Famously well-prepared from a director’s standpoint, but also ‘the fastest shooter in the West’.
And that pace is felt in the sloppiness of this film. It’s a movie that doesn’t have the usual trappings of a post-apocalyptic thriller; there are few chases, little action. It’s a mood piece on grief and the choice one must make to go on.
But Scott’s approach to the film is too journeyman to evoke this attitude. Coupled with a lead performance that can’t convey the microcosms of grief needed, a visually uninspired palette, and a heavy hand in pace, the film never is able to truly connect with the emotional core of its premise. This is a movie that would have sung with an indie director and a less glitzy cast. It’s a film that doesn’t need a huge budget to work. But instead, it’s hampered by the above the line choices.
It can scarcely be conveyed how unbeautiful this film looks. And that’s where the lack of time and care shines through. When the various factions of rogues and villains come across our band of heroes, they are rendered with such little care or grace that they come across like a low budget television show.
And that can be only down to the direction. Because despite the performances, and despite the narrative requirements, this is a film that could have been saved with confident, assured direction; direction that let the grief build not just through the performances, but through every element of the film. A more assured cinematography that pushed the boundaries and took risks; a braver choice to lose some of the odd, out there elements; a choice to make the villains more realistic and scary; and above all else, the space and time to really let the pain of this story linger.
Alas, all of these are incompatible with the approach to the film. The fastest shooter in the West once again proves he is incredibly efficient, but this film needed something else.
