In a post-apocalyptic Colorado, a man searches for hope and community. Ridley Scott’s THE DOG STARS is steadily engaging, yet also dull.
TW: Animal trauma and death.
The Dog Stars’ greatest strengths are also its biggest weaknesses. It’s grounded and well-mannered, calmer even, but for that same reason is a little shallow and, dare I say, dull. Not bad, not boring, just dull. But yet, there’s a spark within that comes from the hand of a well-seasoned filmmaker, a spark that occasionally lights the briefest of fires. Thus, The Dog Stars, written by Mark L. Smith from Peter Heller’s 2012 novel, is a hard film to parse. Honestly, I’m on the fence about how I feel about it. I didn’t dislike the film, but I can’t fully recommend it either. But I appreciate the Ridley Scott film, and I do feel it’ll strike that right chord with many viewers who aren’t me.
The Dog Stars is a post-apocalyptic film of a different breed, mostly, as it hits familiar beats but with an alternate tone. Overall, it’s a slower, more melancholy take on people living their rebuilt lives around Denver ten years or so after a superflu (with Colorado, feels like I should make a The Stand reference here) kills all but a handful of stragglers. It’s purposely more grounded, and refreshingly more optimistic and community-focused, following Jacob Elordi’s Hig as he keeps things safe and stocked for himself and Josh Brolin’s Bangley at a Colorado airfield, and for an enclave of Mennonites run by Benedict Wong. He flies into Denver in his Cessna on occasion, making sure all is clear of raiders and visiting old haunts. Circumstances break the pattern, and he meets with Margaret Qualley and Guy Pierce as Cima and her father Pops, respectively, on a farm, and Allison Janney as.. well, I’ll leave that out for… reasons. All these performers are very good, buoying the film and capturing a soul under Scott’s helm. Elordi has a natural charm, as seen in Frankenstein, Saltburn, and Priscilla, that makes Hig interesting enough to follow, and he pairs well with both Brolin, doing his best Grizzled Grump, and Qualley in Haunted Ingenue mode, in different ways of approaching this post-flu life. Pierce has a spirit, and Janney steals her few scenes.
Within, it purposely avoids getting overly sentimental, presenting a reality the audience can slide into without being bogged down by false emotions and forced character moments. It revels in the isolated beauty of various Italian mountains standing in the Rockies. However, leaving so much off-screen lends a sense of shallowness to the character sketches. But I’m for leaving it where it is, too… mostly… As an unnatural exposition or emotion, it could sink the film. Yes, I keep using mostly for The Dog Stars doesn’t fully subscribe to its notations, often skimming the surface, with a few aspects that don’t mesh fully. But it’s also dull. Not boring, not bad. Just dull. … mostly… The Dog Stars is a film that hums along at a purposeful pace.
Having a master like Ridley Scott (as uneven as his overall filmography is, to be honest; but that’ll happen across 31 feature films) at the helm makes this work. A lesser or newer director’s version of The Dog Stars could easily fall on its face, be relegated to a streaming original. But with Scott, there’s an added life. He knows how to keep it going, exactly what to do to keep interest up, but rarely taking more than needed. In some ways, it coasts, rolling steadily, a little lackadaisically downhill, occasionally gaining speed and careening, but also hitting flatter patches. Never flat enough to come to a stop, but to steady the ride. In keeping it grounded and personal, the film lacks drive. It has a heart in its chest, again appreciated, and a steady heartbeat, but rarely raises the heart rate.
Now I’m not complaining about the lack of direct action, outside of a few moments. I will note for those wanting the more action-oriented plague flick. There are marauders and dangers. But these encroaching enemies, who will no doubt be referred to as Temu Warboys by others, but I’m using it to, are nameless and near-faceless plot devices. There’s a moment early in the film where it seems like a noted organization of villainy and destruction, but ultimately proves a bust, merely a visual representation of the danger that I would guess is more spread out and would be noted by Hig in a scouting.
SEMI VAGUE BUT MAY BE TOO MUCH FOR SOME SPOILER TO FOLLOW
Okay, here’s a bit I’d normally not mention at all because of where it falls in the film, but I HAVE to talk about it… And then there’s about ten minutes where the ghost of David Lynch inhabited Ridley Scott. This sequence, apparently not in the book in his manner, is so strange, so silly, it feels pulled from an entirely different film. It does enliven the proceedings and shook me out of the slight malaise and silent sighs of “is this going somewhere?” Whatever Allison Janney is on for this scene, I want it. It’s so off-putting, it could be ripped from the creepy sequences in Fallout or Bioshock. Ooh, David Lynch’s Bioshock. Mmm. I’m all for it. Now there are plenty of films that are this to a degree, but feature-length (and Walking Dead dealt with it in zombie form), so they can have it. How this culminates is a highlight separate from the remainder of the film. My audience uncomfortably shifted or laughed during it, silly and surreal.
BACK TO THE SPOILER-FREE SHOW
As I was watching, I could see why this was a well-discussed book. I kept thinking, “If I didn’t know this was a book, it would work really well as a book”, although I’ve heard mixed things about it. But that doesn’t mean it translates, and I couldn’t quite connect. I get it, and I can appreciate teh artistry. Scott makes a crafty film.
All in all, The Dog Stars is a movie I can’t fully put a finger on. As we discussed the film after the screening, I told my friend, “I think this is one where when I sit down to write the review, my thoughts will come more in focus, and I’ll find myself liking it more.” And that’s true to a degree. I am feeling Ridley Scott’s film more now than I did twelve hours ago. But it’s not there yet. The Dog Stars isn’t a bad movie. Nowhere near bad. It has a lot going for it. A steady, easy story, a tad familiar but more positive. Heck, I think I might be more positive on a rewatch, which I am totally open to. Sometimes things take a moment, a settling.
As it is, The Dog Stars, directed by Ridley Scott, is a steady but unexceptional film. It has solid performances from very capable actors (I’m really enjoying Elordi’s trajectory), a different take on things, and truly gorgeous cinematography. To use the plane metaphor, as the film heavily features a Cessna: it doesn’t soar, but it doesn’t crash either. Some brief turbulence on a calm flight, but mostly a steady glide to a smooth landing.