Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
(PG) ***
Director: Kriv Stenders.
Cast: Rachael Taylor, Josh Lucas, Luke Ford, John Batchelor, Arthur Angel, Rohan Nichol, Noah Taylor.
FILMS don't come much more typically Australian than this heart-string tugger about Western Australia's famed Pilbara Wanderer.
Honoured in statue, novella, and now movie, Red Dog was a kelpie that turned up in Dampier and became something of a local icon as well as becoming well know across WA for going walkabout.
In this fictionalised account, the dog is the focal point of the small '70s-era mining community who brings people together and provides the backbone to this episodic story.
There's a certain quirkiness in Red Dog that is very Aussie, although at times it works against the film, pushing it into some very silly territory that makes the whole thing feel lame rather than "true blue".
But occasionally the humour hits the mark and the silliness gives way to some nicely touching emotional moments, which help overcome the movie's other flaws.
The first is the pacing. A messy structure - which tells Red Dog's story through the recollections of Dampier residents - takes a long time to settle in, but it eventually gets into a groove about half-way through and this is no mean feat because the movie is essentially plotless.
The same unevenness that ripples through the framework of the movie affects the script (there are some real dud lines in there) and that in turn affects the cast occasionally.
But when it all clicks together, Red Dog works well. It's emotional core and key theme about disparate people coming together to create a community of their own are very Australian and to be commended.
The WA landscape is another star of the film, which is visually impressive aside from two or three incredibly bad CG effects.
What matters here is the heart, and only a true cynic would find Red Dog totally unenjoyable.