WATCH THE TRAILER HERE
First, the Recap:
An affliction of being. It’s been demonstrated in all of our lives at one point or the other that breaking points do exist, whether we choose to acknowledge them or not is another matter. There is no denying life brings strains and stresses we cannot always process in the best ways, allowing them to build to the point of utter mental, even physical, exhaustion. When this degree of weight upon who we are then explodes, can we manage under its force, or crumble completely to potentially drastic ends? One night at a 24-hour pet clinic, 30-year veterinarian Claire (Kate Walsh) has found the edge of her own sanity and willingness to push through. Dedicated to a fault, overworked, and attempting to confront realities both past and present that plague her mind, can she discover the path out of the state she resides within–or will it destroy all she is?
Next, my Mind:
Decisively intense and heart-wrenchingly compelling dramatic impact collides with a wholly accessible, poignantly relevant, and deeply necessary message about the ongoing need for mental health awareness and assistance to those afflicted by it thanks to this new 12-minute short film from writer/director/producer Danielle Baynes plus producers Lottie Aspinall and Morgan Hind that unapologetically showcases the genuinely harsh truths about the burden upon someone’s entire being that can manifest from it. Soon to have its screenings as a selection for the 20th Anniversary HollyShorts Film Festival (which runs August 8th-18th at the renowned TCL Chinese Theater, Los Angeles), this critic’s immediate reaction is to say that I SO hope the film has the same degree of weighty, evocative impact on the attending audiences as it had on me. This IS actuality, folks, and it is NEVER something we should turn away from being reminded about.
Focused on the plight of a veteran animal doctor working a 24-hour clinic that is facing severe struggles within herself that threatens everything she’s worked at as well as having had to deal with due TO her chosen profession, it is a visceral exercise in raw states of absolute mental fatigue and the consequences of allowing the lingering effects of it to grow until reaching a boiling point then exploding. It is quite simply a strongly, exquisitely, unflinchingly emotive portrait of what occurs when trapped within what amounts to a true monster’s grasp plus what it can potentially lead to if not tamed, and I give an emphatically FULL amount of credit to Baynes for her willingness to BE another filmmaker that chooses to tackle this subject with such immersive and captivating punch and credibility in order to ensure the intended objectives this film addresses ARE indeed made MORE than clear.
In this post-COVID-19 world we’re residing in, mental wellness has already taken center stage as it is, but how this film conveys the struggle is placed in an even more fully relatable context from the very start, and I will be bold here and state that if the film doesn’t elicit tears for almost its entire runtime, then please check your heartbeat. That isn’t remotely to proclaim that different people don’t feel in different ways, etc, but honestly, it is within the context the struggle we’re witnessing is placed that gives the narrative its potency here, and it DID have this critic IN tears and emotional upheaval the majority of the time, much less upon reaching the finale that is jarringly gut-wrenching yet ultimately a requisite, provocative exploration encompassing and encapsulating all of the film’s intentions in a manner you will not soon forget once viewing it.
This truly is no exaggeration, and again, I do hope the sheer significance of the film hits home with everyone who watches. Thematic turns covering not only the primary issues at hand, but also pet/owner bonds, new trainees and awkward first steps in their jobs, the undeniable devastation of having to let go, the ways we attempt to compartmentalize anxiety and stress, always trying to be a positive voice in the face of tough choices being made by others, being present for said decisions and treating it with a “business as usual” mentality, how it all is REALLY affecting us, the denial of our own quickly deteriorating condition, and the real dangers of being haunted to extremes by these pent-up frames of mind all come into play here, and with a palpable aura of realism that serves the narrative so frighteningly well. Yet, it IS all part of a grander, essential urgency to encourage us to HELP where we can in this mental health battlefield, especially when it is hitting those we know personally–and even ourselves.
It should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with “Grey’s Anatomy” that Walsh would be a tangibly stirring yet formidable, energetic, effective presence in this film, and make no mistake, the actress IS precisely this through her lead role as Claire, a long-standing, and now long-suffering, veterinarian working a 24-hour clinic whose choice of career has finally come to a point of internalized but now surfacing pressure and overwhelming anguish. Always trying to be the steadfast rock in the company of others’ pain while also attempting on this particular night to be of guidance to a new employee, Claire’s stormy soul is being crushed by so much of what’s she’s had to engage in as part of who and what she is and does. As the night moves on, there’s a sudden and eerie confrontation with the manifestation of everything she’s been endeavoring to contain, and where it will lead is as unnerving as it is needed. Walsh becomes a living embodiment of this inwardly catastrophic then achingly cathartic journey, and paired with the keenly penetrating and affecting emotional turbulence accompanying it all, it is a totally winning performance. Period.
Primary supporting turns arrive starting with Justin Amankwah as Joe, the clinic’s newest member whose introduction to the duties he will be required to do on top of having a mentor on the edge makes for quite an unsettled but then also beautifully moving inaugural shift. Jeremy Waters and Hunter Sabe play Murray and Stef, a father and his young daughter who become that initial illustration of what we’ve all experienced when it comes to our beloved pets when their time has come and how it impacts those responsible for trying to get them through it. Finally, Emalia appears as Ines, another patron of the clinic that evening who likewise paints that picture of not having the willingness to accept what’s occurring with her pet. One last “appearance” is made by Nicholas Hope in voice only, but providing a very key series of moments in the film that will define Claire’s character and the inner hurt she is contending with.
So, in total, “The Dog” stands with a relentlessly uncompromising and indisputably unyielding strength of purpose in its depiction of just how imperative mental health wellness and the urgency to acknowledge, waylay, and conquer it remains as a fundamental reality, at MINIMUM to be of aid and comfort to our fellow human beings, but also as a cautionary tale to remind us that NO ONE is IMMUNE to facing this, and that burying it ISN’T the answer. There IS help. You are NOT alone. We need to ensure we remain available to recognize it when at all possible, again within others AND ourselves. It is no joke, nothing to just pass off as “oh, it’s really no big deal”, and let this film BE a catalyst for ACTION so as to avert the tragedy that FAR too often becomes the end of it for FAR too many souls.
STAR RATING (out of 5):
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
