Review No.26: Red Dog

It's odd sometimes how patterns emerge in the titles of these films with the next film being the third in a row with a colour in the title and the second with red featuring prominently however Red Dog is neither a British Chiller or a Chinese sex film but instead a based-on-a-true-story Australian film. We open on the Australian outback as Thomas a trucker pulls into a bar for a drink and sees that a man in the back is trying to shoot a dog but can't bring himself to do this. Thomas is then told that Red Dog is a popular part of the community and one by one they tell him what Red Dog means to them from a confident to a matchmaker to a life-saver he has made a difference in all their lives. However his eventual master becomes John an American and the dog is instrumental in him securing a romance with the local beauty Nancy. As the story goes on there is tragedy and heartbreak with Red Dog becoming famous as he goes on a search across the country before he returns to the community that he called home.

At first I found it hard to engage with Red Dog but as it went on I was won over by the ensemble cast's earnest performances and the camaraderie that existed within the small mining community in which they lived. Obviously a lot of the enjoyment of the film is down to Koko as the titular animal and he does a great job of portraying the emotions that we are meant to believe Red Dog is feeling. There are also some lovely understated performances from Josh Lucas and Rachael Taylor as John and Nancy as well as an over-the-top one from John Batchelor as the romantic Peeto however I feel the bigger names among the cast such as Noah Taylor and Keisha Castle-Hughes are wasted especially the latter who basically has to smile and hold babies. The cinematography by Geoffrey Hall perfectly captures the American bush and the friendship that develops between these seemingly disparate people thanks to Red Dog. Even though initially I was sceptical of the film by the end I was a bit emotional which I suppose meant that it did it job effectively either that or I'm a big softy.

Verdict: Not particularly original but a lovely little story about the dog that could so it seems appropriate to award it 6/10