Isle Of Dogs Review: Wes Anderson returns to the Berlinale with his new stop-motion effort that follows a boy’s odyssey in search of his dog.
Isle Of Dogs review by Stefan Pape.
Isle Of Dogs review
Not to say dogs have ever been unfashionable, but at present we’re somewhat besotted with our canine friends, mostly in part down to the social media and the never-ending barrage of ineffably adorable videos that adorn our feeds of dogs being, well, dogs. So Wes Anderson’s return to the world of stop-motion animation after Fantastic Mr. Fox seems perfectly well-timed, except this is not the side to dogs we find cute and cuddly. No, these dogs are sneezing, rabies-ridden creatures that eat food covered in maggots. At one point the dogs talk about a friend of theirs who committed suicide by hanging from his very own leash. Bloody hell Wes.
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Set in Japan, after an outbreak of canine flu, Mayor Kobayashi (Kunici Nomura) has banished all dogs to an isolated island/garbage dump. Though many, including the likes of Rex (Edward Norton), Boss (Bill Murray) and Duke (Jeff Goldblum) were once house pets, now they scavenge for scraps, fighting amongst themselves – even the more accustomed stray dogs, such as Chief (Bryan Cranston) struggle to get by. Until one day a 12 year old boy (Koyu Rankin) crash lands in this wasteland looking for his dog, kickstarting something of a rebellion, as the dogs strive to return back to their rightful home and to their masters, fearing a government conspiracy along the way.
Isle Of Dogs review
As the age-old saying goes, never work with animals and children. Well Anderson has got round that here by featuring the aforementioned as protagonists, but without having to physically attempt to direct a pack of overly excited dogs. Instead he has hired a remarkable voice cast here, which also features the likes of Liev Schreiber, Greta Gerwig, Scarlett Johansson and Frances McDormand, each bringing their indelible talents to this production. It’s a film that feels very Wes Anderson-y too, but in this instance, that’s not necessarily a positive thing. Complete, in a rather contrived fashion, with his trademark quirks, Isle of Dogs is style over substance, just lacking somewhat in pathos and heart, and while featuring the occasional hilarious moment, they remain few and far between.
The way the filmmaker has imbued Japanese culture and folklore into proceedings is commendable however, particularly in the Alexandre Desplat score, using drums throughout, enhancing the more intense aspects of the narrative which serve the film well. That being said, Anderson can be accused of being a little stereotypical in his depiction of the Japanese characters, verging on being offensive, just let off the hook given the title’s overriding, playful approach which detracts from the more questionable elements.
Isle Of Dogs review
The film may also make you feel a little dizzy, as when the camera is in motion and pans across characters it all grows blurry and may just give you a headache. And that’s not an exaggerated means of explaining why this film may rub you up the wrong way – it literally will give you a headache.
Isle Of Dogs review by Stefan Pape, February 2018.
Isle Of Dogs is released in UK cinemas on March 30th, 2018.
