Review of Year of the Dog (2007) by Tom A — 23 Nov 2008

Totally underrated and surprisingly complex comedy. Molly Shannon, in a great performance, is a woman whose life is centered around her pup Pencil. We see Shannon interacting with her best friend (who wants to marry her unfaithful boyfriend), her brother and his family (who are insufferable "young parents" of the kind I particularly despise), and her shallow co-workers and self-obsessed boss -- she stands in stark contrast because, unlike them, she seems completely fulfuilled with a very positive and nurturing love -- for her dog.

Then Pencil suddenly dies. She is devastated but tries to move on -- going on a date with her neighbour (John C. Reilly) and then developing a close friendship with animal adoption practitioner Peter Sarsgaard.

He gets her involved in animal adoption, veganism and animal activism, which she becomes obsessed with. When she wants her friendship with Sarsgaard to develop into something more, she is rebuffed. Then when he has to put her new dog down for mauling another animal, she spirals out of control.

Shannon gives a complete portrayal of a woman whose choices in life, because they are in contrast to the choices the "normal" people around her make (i.e. she doesn't want to get married, start a family, or pursue a career), she is socially ostracized.

She has an enormous amount of love in her (more than bleeding-heart Sarsgaard) but she can only channel it through animals as they are the only living things that do not disappoint her. She tries repeatedly to live a "normal" life but it never works for her -- even though the people around her love her very much.

At one point in the film, as she is looking at all the different dogs in cages about to be euthanized, we realize that all the people in her life have their own self-imposed cages (work, relationship, family) that dictate how they behave -- Shannon will have none of that, no matter the consequences.

Like her, these animals are being punished for not being accepted by the humans around them. Film is very funny but also extremely touching and beautifully done. Great supporting performances from Reilly, Sarsgaard, Regina King and Laura Dern.