Review of Year of the Dog (2007) by Remi V L — 21 Oct 2007

It's hard to find your place in the world when society has foisted a set of devalued norms in your face. What's left of life for a single fortysomething office clerk on the brink of spinsterhood, when everybody around her talks about romantic trysts and details of family domestication? Screenwriter Mike White ("School of Rock", "Nacho Libre"), in his directorial debut, confronts this seemingly bland question and turns it into an engaging conversation between life's haves and should-haves.

Peggy (Molly Shannon in a brilliantly understated performance) is our lonesome protagonist whose life revolved around her work and delightful pet beagle Pencil. The dog wanders into the premises of a burly neighbor (John C. Reilly) and is found lying on a pavement. Pencil eventually succumbs to a diagnosed case of toxic poisoning.

Distraught, Peggy turns to the superficial comfort of the neighbor, as it won't take long until she discovers his crass ways and his apparent role in Pencil's death. Double whammied, Peggy resorts to adopting another dog with the help of the local association. She gets smitten with a pound volunteer (Peter Sarsgaard), learns his vegetarian or "vegan" ways, and gains an animal rights consciousness. But her blooming interest in him turns unrequited, on account of his sexually ambiguous preferences.

That means strike three, but will she be out or will her third time be a charm? She does seem down and out for the count, but she gathers her wits and affirms what life gives her and what she truly wants to be, as she joins an animal rights advocacy group on the road.

This movie was a hit at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, though did not get wide public support upon its theatrical release. So to DVD-ville it went.

My wife and I truly adored this movie. Perhaps we saw ourselves in Peggy, not only because we have a pet dog, but also because we went through some Arthurian Holy Grail search for our vocations. Indeed, to find one's place in this world, it takes some measure of pain and loneliness to develop a passion for what's right. Add a great dose of suffering along the way, and you've got yourself a person on the brink of catharsis and ultimate conscription into the army fighting injustice and human oppression.