Film Review — Dogtooth (2009)
★★★★☆
Three adults raised by a controlling father in near-complete isolation from the outside world slowly begin to question their way of life.
An early effort from the now widely acclaimed Yorgos Lanthimos, the unconventional Dogtooth is a deeply uncomfortable watch for a number of reasons. With practically zero explanation and lots of unusual long-take shots, Lanthimos successfully paints a picture of a family who might as well be living on another planet.
The experience is a bewildering one. Scenes oscillate between hilarious and harrowing, tedious and thrilling, loving and loathing. The three young adults, played by Angeliki Papoulia, Mary Tsoni and Christos Passalis, feel scarily legitimate with performances that perfectly capture the naivete their suffocating isolation would result in. Papoulia, in particular, is terrific as the eldest whose adolescent hunger for adventure is the catalyst for some of the film’s more shocking and memorable moments.
Dogtooth is a challenging and, at times, punishing watch. It’s a film that tests its audience with an almost documentary-like approach, unflinching in its raw depiction and potentially frustrating with its lack of answers. But those fascinated by human behaviour, rendered by a brilliantly unique filmmaker, should find plenty to sink their teeth into.
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