Based on a Jon Katz book by the same name, A Dog Year is based on Katz’s memoirs that have him going through writer’s block, as well as a midlife crisis. To try to coup with a confusing time in his life, not to mention a lonely time, he adopts a crazy dog named Devon. Devon comes from an abusive home and the trust between him and Jon has to be built from scratch. In the midst of trying to save the dog from his state of mind, Devon ends up teaching Jon a bit more about himself and eventually ends up saving Jon.
The problem with books like A Dog Year is that their detail can sometimes translate badly to screen. This doesn’t mean the story is bad, but it does mean that it isn’t suited for the medium. The main problem with the movie is that it falls at the beginning like every movie should, but it should start building after that point. Stories in movies are like rollercoaster rides; they have a nice drop and then excitement ensues. Well, the story starts pretty well as we’re introduced to Devon by his grand escape inside of an airport. This established Devon’s demeanor and how things are going to go throughout the film. Then we’re introduced to Jon and establish his own demeanor towards helping animals. The introduction of both characters is easy and fast. Then we see a series of moments where Devon is just being wild with Jon (running away, causing trouble, jumping on top of cars, etc.) and this is where the story falls (again, like it should). Then the story starts building a little bit where Jon and Devon begin to understand each other. Jon changes environments and tries to get on some healthy communicative level with Devon. That’s really where the building ends, as the story begins to branch out into different directions.
It splits into two pieces. You’ve got one piece where Jon is breaking down and showing his emotional cards to the audience. You understand that he has some issues and he isn’t divorced. You also have a story of Devon where he is showing his true colors as a bordie collie that needs to run wild. While I’m certain the book establishes a very strong bond between dog and Jon, the movie doesn’t have a healthy connection between the two. It’s a forced relationship that simply doesn’t work. By the end of this film my wife and I were scratching our heads figuring out why George LaVoo ended on the note he did. Nothing was really resolved at the end, nothing was really repaired. There wasn’t much hope given either, as I couldn’t buy the fact that Jon would get better thanks to Devon. The only sure thing I knew was that Devon found his place out in the wild doing what Devon does best. What that means for Jon is up in the air, as I could see the forced connection between the two, but nothing really smooth.
By the way, the performance by the dog and Jeff Bridges was out of this world good. If you’re a fan of Bridges (or the dog) then this might entertain you. For me I just felt like it was a celebration that didn’t really have a great closing act.
Again, maybe this needed to stay a book.
Shifting gears a bitthe single behind-the-scenes featurette is actually very insightful. It gives a bit more detail on what the intentions of the film were. I like a featurette that can do that, as it does improve the quality of the picture. I just wish the intentions had developed into a solid piece of storyline.