Dogman
Magnolia Pictures | Release Date: April 12, 2019
8.2
USER SCORE
Universal acclaim based on 48 Ratings
USER RATING DISTRIBUTION
Positive:
41
Mixed:
6
Negative:
1
Watch Now
Stream On
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Expand
Review this movie
VOTE NOW
 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Check box if your review contains spoilers 0 characters (5000 max)

User Reviews

User scoreBy dateMost helpful
8
netflicApr 22, 2019
Italian film with English subtitles.
I would characterize it as "a bully and a little guy" story with a twist.
This drama is about dignity, abuse of power, responsibility for one's actions, revenge among other things. A dogman is a little guyItalian film with English subtitles.
I would characterize it as "a bully and a little guy" story with a twist.
This drama is about dignity, abuse of power, responsibility for one's actions, revenge among other things.
A dogman is a little guy who grooms dogs and has no fighting inside him.
Nonetheless, when put into a corner, one will attack, be it a dog, a rat, or even a push-over.
The film is stylish, made in the best traditions of Italian movie making.
The protagonist's acting is absolutely stunning.… Expand
0 of 1 users found this helpful01
All this user's reviews
7
TyranianJan 26, 2020
Pretty good Italian crime-thriller with good direction, visuals and acting.
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
All this user's reviews
7
Brent_MarchantApr 28, 2019
I have a love-hate relationship with this offering about a kindly dog groomer who gets mixed up with the wrong crowd and doesn't quite know how to deal with it. While the film presents an interesting premise that's well constructed during theI have a love-hate relationship with this offering about a kindly dog groomer who gets mixed up with the wrong crowd and doesn't quite know how to deal with it. While the film presents an interesting premise that's well constructed during the first two acts, it seems to paint itself into a corner as it heads toward the conclusion, not quite sure how to wrap up the story without resorting to predictable, conventional means to avoid losing the essence of its central message. This makes for something of a letdown in terms of originality despite the inevitability with which the picture saddles itself. This 3.5-star is probably being generous given the cinematic conundrum at work here.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
All this user's reviews
7
Bertaut1Apr 24, 2019
This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. A well-made modern fable

Loosely based on a real-life incident, Dogman is an intimate character drama telling the story of an inherently good man who pays the price for attempting to foster a friendship with an irredeemable and sociopathic brute. Directed and co-written by Matteo Garrone, the film operates on the level of both social realism and as a kind of modern-day Aesop's fable. Postulating the somewhat nihilistic view that, when pushed to extremes and backed into a corner, man is no different than a dog, the film returns Garrone to the mob-infused milieu of his breakout, Gomorra (2008). However, the two are markedly different films - whereas Gomorra weaved five separate stories into a complex narrative tapestry, Dogman focuses tightly on one core story; whereas Gomorra told the story of a powerful organised criminal enterprise, Dogman tells the story of a localised and utterly ridiculous criminal mentality; whereas Gomorra depicted mob figures both powerful and insignificant, Dogman depicts people not even on the lowest rungs of the ladder. However, both films emphasise the importance of omertà, and both explore some of the less glamourous aspects of gangsterism - the casual brutality, the illogical sycophancy, the centrality of pusillanimity, the power of addiction, the nature of poverty, the abdication of immediate self-interest in deference to potential long-term accruement.

Diminutive and inoffensive, Marcello (Marcello Fonte), owns a small dog-grooming business in a run-down Neapolitan sea-side suburb. Separated from his wife, Marcello is devoted to his daughter, Alida (Alida Baldari Calabria). However, to pay for the expensive holidays on which he takes Alida, he sells cocaine on the side, his best customer for which is the hulking Simoncino (Edoardo Pesce). An unpredictable and volatile ex-boxer who everyone in town fears, although Simoncino treats Marcello with utter contempt, Marcello wants to foster a real friendship. However, when Simoncino decides to rob the gold-for-cash store next door to Marcello's business by busting a hole through Marcello's wall, Marcello is immediately uncomfortable. Failing to talk Simoncino out of the robbery, Marcello eventually decides he's had enough of being pushed around.

Co-written by Garrone and his regular collaborators, Ugo Chiti and Massimo Gaudioso, Dogman is based on the case of Pietro De Negri, aka "Er Canaro" (the dog keeper). A dog-groomer who dealt cocaine on the side, in 1988 Negri tortured to death former boxer and cocaine addict Giancarlo Ricci, who had bullied him for years.

The film goes out of its way to ensure that the audience feels sympathy for Marcello, if not necessarily empathy, depicting him as a fundamentally decent person, coke dealing aside. Yes, he's weak-willed and a terrible judge of character, but he dearly loves his daughter, who he treats like a queen, he is respectful and accommodating to his friends, and he seems to genuinely believe he can save Simoncino from himself. His hamartia is that he believes he can apply logic to his friendship with Simoncino - if he gives Simoncino what he wants, then Simoncino will come to respect him. Highly skilled at placating the snarling dogs who don't want him anywhere near them, Marcello wrongly believes he can do the same with Simoncino.

Especially worthy of praise is the film's almost post-apocalyptic location, which is practically another character entirely - the beach is ugly and overgrown; the buildings are unoccupied, paint peeling off the walls, some of them literally only shells; the shopfronts are rusty. This ties into the film's allegorical concerns, as the desolate nature of the locale mirrors the barren souls of the men who live here.

Fitting very much into Garrone's oeuvre, Dogman wants to convey universal truths by focusing on the micro rather than the macro. Of course, for an allegory to work, it must first and foremost function as a stand-alone story, and the argument could be made that this is where Dogman falls down. The storyline is very slight, with Garrone more interested in philosophising than he is in story-telling.

Another issue is related to the metaphor of the dogs. Whilst "Dogman" is the name of Marcello's business, it also describes both protagonist and antagonist - Simoncino is the vicious beast who Marcello must try to calm, whilst Marcello is the unfailingly loyal lapdog who always returns to his abusive master. However, do the caged dogs represent how Marcello is entrapped by Simoncino's violence, or are the shots of Marcello pampering them a metaphor for his servility to an indifferent master?

However, aside from this slight impreciseness, Dogman is a fine film. Humble in its aspirations, and small by design, some viewers will find it too uneventful, whilst others will find the ending too abrupt. All things considered, though, it's a strong piece of cinema.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
All this user's reviews
3
KenRDec 21, 2021
This Italian drama claims to be based on real events, if this is so, maybe it needed to be left to the newspaper headlines then archived. It’s a tragic tale of human injustice, the plight of a simple man (Marcello) struggling to make endsThis Italian drama claims to be based on real events, if this is so, maybe it needed to be left to the newspaper headlines then archived. It’s a tragic tale of human injustice, the plight of a simple man (Marcello) struggling to make ends meet by running a dog grooming shop but who’s constantly bullied by a moronic, vicious ex-boxer-thug. While Marcello’s separated from his wife, he somehow manages to always have enough money to take his young daughter on snorkeling holidays. This money seems to come from his dabbling as a local peddler of coke – something he also foolishly uses himself.

In good company, this simple man might possibly be a reasonably respected citizen(?) but under the violent influence of the brutish thug, and not being able to defend himself from constant heavy standover tactics - he allows himself to sink into the depths of crime he mostly wants little part of (or so it seems...?)

After taking a prison rap for the activities of the thug, he begins to plan his revenge. It’s a sad indictment of human frailty and how others can push the vulnerable into shocking life-altering situations. It’s hailed as an Award winner but like so many of today’s ‘Award’ winners - there’s little to enjoy and less to recommend it - unless you happen to have a thing for tales lifted from society’s file of low-life-losers. Cinematography is good in its own dismal way and the lead performance is effective.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
All this user's reviews
10
FrancisDGJun 4, 2019
Garrone is maybe the best director in Italy, and Dogman represents its best movie. Loved it!
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
All this user's reviews
10
MsSukiMay 16, 2019
Incredible...At times it was very tense and had me feeling very torn over Marcello (Marcello Fonte) between compassion and resentment. I have never hated a character so much as the The local bully Simoncino (Edoardo Pesce) excellent actingIncredible...At times it was very tense and had me feeling very torn over Marcello (Marcello Fonte) between compassion and resentment. I have never hated a character so much as the The local bully Simoncino (Edoardo Pesce) excellent acting overall, Highly recommend!… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
All this user's reviews
10
stanley_Jun 14, 2019
A GIANT MOVIE, that lives of atmosphere and wonderfull acting. Its a masterpiece.
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
All this user's reviews
7
Sarcastic_DevisDec 5, 2021
Posso dire che questo film mi ha messo una tristezza?

Non tanto per l'arco narrativo del protagonista, che non sappiamo mai se affezionarci del tutto a lui oppure no, ma per l'intera vicenda e come si è conclusa: una storia da cui nessunoPosso dire che questo film mi ha messo una tristezza?

Non tanto per l'arco narrativo del protagonista, che non sappiamo mai se affezionarci del tutto a lui oppure no, ma per l'intera vicenda e come si è conclusa: una storia da cui nessuno esce vincitore. Per quanto riguarda regia e fotografia, dall'uomo che ha diretto "Il racconto dei racconti" non mi aspettavo nulla di meno.
Nota di merito alle scenografie: veramente ben curate e tangibili, hai sempre la sensazione di trovarti nella Roma più trasandata, una piccola realtà realmente esistita.

Consigliato? Yup yup.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
All this user's reviews
8
DawdlingPoetDec 6, 2022
This is a solid Italian crime drama film, with some mildly comedic elements. Its set at a dog groomers, with the groomer himself depicted as someone dabbling in drug dealing (supplying) to, I assume, help top up his living. The main characterThis is a solid Italian crime drama film, with some mildly comedic elements. Its set at a dog groomers, with the groomer himself depicted as someone dabbling in drug dealing (supplying) to, I assume, help top up his living. The main character is a reasonably likeable guy - a father and a somewhat introverted man, who tries to lay low and who clearly loves the dogs he cares for in his legit business. Listening to him baby talk the dogs is amusing. I wouldn't quite go so far as to say the supposed 'dogman' is like a 'dogfather' type (aka the Godfather character/films) but there again, I kind of respect the fact its all set in a rather run down urban setting - its probably more realistic of life in some parts of Italy, I'd guess.

It is certainly somewhat bleak and a bit, I suppose, bizarre/random/quirky but its a good film with some perhaps reasonably thoughtful moments, so I'd recommend it, yes.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
All this user's reviews
10
NickTheCritickApr 14, 2023
Marcello, a dog groomer, commits petty crimes for Simoncino, a former boxer who terrorizes the neighborhood. The abuses of the criminal, however, push the man to take matters into his own hands.
For me, this film is Matteo Garrone's trueMarcello, a dog groomer, commits petty crimes for Simoncino, a former boxer who terrorizes the neighborhood. The abuses of the criminal, however, push the man to take matters into his own hands.
For me, this film is Matteo Garrone's true masterpiece: the cinematography portrays a roman suburb with post-apocalyptic "Mad Max" atmospheres. Each shot is a painting and is functional to the next one. Garrone's direction is well-kept and leaves nothing to chance, the film keeps you in suspense until the very end and what can I say more: an unmissable film.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
All this user's reviews
10
EstebanRLSFeb 8, 2023
There is a 75 character minimum for reviews. If your review contains spoilers, please check the Spoiler box. Please do not use ALL CAPS. There is no linking or other HTML allowed. Your review may be edited for content.
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
All this user's reviews
More From This Movie

71 Critic Reviews

8.2 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 81 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
2 77 Project Hail Mary
3 75 Send Help
4 73 Hoppers
5 72 The Sheep Detectives
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL