Directed by: Ridley Scott
Written by: Mark L. Smith, based on Peter Heller’s novel
Starring: Jacob Elordi, Josh Brolin, Margaret Qualley, Guy Pearce, Benedict Wong, and Allison Janney
Runtime: 118 minutes
‘The Dog Stars’: The cinematic stars do not perfectly align, but the performances and pacing make this post-apocalyptic tale worth a look
Stars.
The last word in the title of director Ridley Scott’s new movie is apropos.
Jacob Elordi, Josh Brolin, Margaret Qualley, Guy Pearce, Benedict Wong, and Allison Janney play roles in Scott’s post-apocalyptic presentation.
What a cast!
This regal acting ensemble does not lend their voices to play animated canines. Their characters are humans in a live-action story – along with one dog named Jasper - set in a world where a cataclysmic virus has decimated humanity. The year is 2035, and the few who survived this unknown flu-like tidal wave must fight to continue their individual existences.
Scott’s film – based on Peter Heller’s 2012 novel – feels like a combination of few genres. “The Dog Stars” carries the primal, rabid danger of “28 Days Later” (2002) and “The Road Warrior” (1981), pays homage to classic westerns where an isolated ranch can always be vulnerable to strangers, like in “The Outlaw Josey Wales” (1976), and wades into a deliberately casual pace where the leads try to find meaning in their current state of affairs, such as in “The Postman” (1997).
The threats are horribly real, but they appear in a few different forms from the aforementioned genres. It’s tricky to pin down the nature of the antagonists. Some act zombie-like or are first cousins to the maniacs from “Mad Max: Fury Road” (2015). Additionally, an aggressive, but not fanatical, assembly rides on horseback, and filmmakers conjure a couple of other villainous twists, so it’s a bit confusing.
However, if Scott, Heller, and screenwriter Mark L. Smith wanted to communicate that peril can appear in any form, then mission accomplished.
Meanwhile, the protagonists attempt some semblance of normalcy with a few creature comforts and try to avoid the said creatures.
You see, food, electricity, gasoline, and medical supplies are worth more than their weight in gold (that is, if any modern currency existed). One would stand a better chance of winning a pre-pandemic Powerball windfall than discovering a bottle of penicillin.
If one possessed such a medicinal luxury, then prepare to face the ongoing problem of keeping it. Outsiders could burst into view or silently sneak onsite, shoot you and your loved ones dead, and then rob you blind while they step over your corpses.
Hig (Jacob Elordi) and Bangley (Josh Brolin) are on constant high alert, as the two pals live on an abandoned multi-acreage airfield in rural Erie, Colo.
(The film is set in Colorado, but cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt films gorgeous mountainous rigor in Italy.)
Bangley, a pragmatist, frequently perches from a tower as a sniper.
“Shoot first and never ask questions” could be Bangley’s motto.
Hig had a pragmatic occupation before life went to hell. He was a mechanic and a pilot.
Still, Hig is an idealist at heart and wonders if life could be better outside his and his pal’s discouraging but effective reality, especially when he occasionally communicates with a friendly voice in Grand Junction, a town just over 250 miles away.
“The Dog Stars” street cred leans into the actors championing their characters.
Hig and Bangley share a congenial “The Odd Couple” vibe, and Pops (Guy Pearce) and Cima (Margaret Qualley) are a welcome sight for Hig and the audience, as this father/daughter team doesn’t share Bangley’s decree. Although, Pops patience towards strangers has been worn thin – off-screen – in recent years. His trigger finger could prove itchy if provoked.
Still, he hopes for peace, but Pops protects Cima and their spot of nirvana, as she attempts to balance a positive outlook while coping with a painful backstory. Curiously, Hig’s upsetting history – which Scott and Elordi frequently revisit - did not resonate as much as Cima’s 60-second mention. Still, these two survivors’ past experiences do effectively draw them together.
This critic cared about these characters, and Scott’s and editors Sam Restivo and Claire Simpons’ choices to spend long stretches in casual, everyday moments of grace that are sometimes interrupted by unpredictable violence made the 118-minute runtime seem regrettably too short. This is especially true when those same filmmakers wrapped up the third act too quickly, as if they were under some unforgiving edict of limiting the film to a two-hour theatrical runtime.
Wanting “The Dog Stars” to run longer is a good sign, and while the cinematic stars do not perfectly align, the performances and pacing make this post-apocalyptic tale worth a look.
Jeff’s ranking
2.5 / 4 stars
