Dogman

The multi award-winning new crime thriller from internationally-heralded writer/director Matteo Garrone (Gomorrah, Tale of Tales), DOGMAN is the compelling story of a gentle family man driven beyond his limits, based on remarkable true events. In a dilapidated Neapolitan suburb, the pint-sized, mild-mannered Marcello (Marcello Fonte) runs the dog-grooming business of the film’s title, caring for the neighbourhood pooches, and raising his young daughter, Alida, for whom he’d do anything to spoil.

But he’s domineered by one of his customers, Simone (Edoardo Pesce), a petty criminal and former boxer who throws his substantial bulk around this tight-knit community at every opportunity. Marcello soon becomes swept up in a criminal plan he wants nothing to do with…Meticulously directed and photographed, and entirely sympathetic to its four-legged cast-members (none of who are harmed), Garrone’s bravura urban noir is also impeccably acted, with Marcello Fonte’s extra­ordinary performance highly deserving of the Best Actor prizes at both Cannes and the European Film Awards.

Critic Reviews:

• " Within Dogman lie a semi-developed duality between the inner and the outer, its philosophies matching those often seen in Eastern cinema, and it mostly works. " – Matt Cipolla

• " Matteo Garrone fully unfolds his narrative resources in a remarkable handling of irony and suspense. " – Carlos Bonfil

• " It's obvious that Marcello the dogman is not just the keeper of a pooch parlour, he has a full set of dog-like instincts. " – John McDonald