Based on the novel by Romain Gary, White Dog is the story of a dog trainer who helps a young actress retrain a stray dog that was trained to kill black people in an examination of racism. Directed by Samuel Fuller and screenplay by Fuller and Curtis Hanson, the film is an exploration of a black man dealing with a dog that kills black people as he tries to retrain it and tame him with the help of a young white actress as they deal with what had happened to this dog. Starring Paul Winfield, Kristy McNichol, Jameson Parker, Parley Baer, and Burl Ives. White Dog is a chilling and provocative film from Samuel Fuller.
A young actress finds a stray dog that she hit one night as she would take care of it unaware that it’s a white German Shepard who has been trained to kill black people where a series of incidents forces her to seek help where a black dog trainer tries to tame the dog. It’s a film with a simple premise as it plays into this young woman who finds a dog unaware of where it came from as she would see what this dog does first-hand during a film set where she was working where the dog attacked a black actress. The film’s screenplay by Samuel Fuller and Curtis Hanson is straightforward in its narrative yet it is more about this dog that the actress Julie Sawyer (Kristy McNichol) found where she took to a vet and pondered about taking it to a dog pound yet chooses to take care of it much to the dismay of her boyfriend Roland (Jameson Parker) who suspects something isn’t right about the dog.
Notably when the dog comes home one day with blood all over himself and following an incident on-set during a film shoot. She turns to the animal trainer Carruthers (Burl Ives) who sees what the dog does as does the black animal trainer Keys (Paul Winfield) who decides to take the dog in and hope to tame him. Yet, it would prove to be difficult as it play into the idea of race and what this dog had been trained to do where Julie learns first-hand about what this dog did as she isn’t sure if she made the right decision.
Fuller’s direction is largely straightforward with the exception of the scenes involving the dog attacking African-American victims. Shot on location in Los Angeles, Fuller presents a world where racism is still around but not in the most expected places as Sawyer lives in the Hollywood Hills trying to get work as an actress while Roland is a screenwriter. While Fuller does use some wide shots to establish some of the locations including the scope of the animal shelter where Carruthers and Keys train animals for film projects where they treat animals humanely and with care. Much of the direction has Fuller use close-ups and medium shots with some striking compositions that play into the interaction between human and dog. With the aid of Karl Lewis Miller of Animal Action, the dog is a major character in the film as he is portrayed by five different white German Shepard as Fuller’s close-ups of the dog in the way he looks at a black person showcases this sense of dread and what is to come.
Fuller also knows when to subvert some of the suspense during the film’s second act where the dog escapes as there’s a shot of the dog sniffing for food while there’s a young black child in the background as it adds to the air of discomfort. Keys is someone who would try and tame this dog as he has this hope that trying to show this dog kindness and compassion yet remains unsure of how a dog would act towards other people since dogs can only see black and white. Even as he is patient towards the dog to gain its trust but there is also this air of uncertainty into how a dog that had been trained to kill black people would react to society and a world that is complicated. Overall, Fuller crafts an eerie and visceral film about a white German Shepard who kills black people raising questions about the idea of racism.
Cinematographer Bruce Surtees does excellent work with the film’s cinematography as it is largely straightforward with some low-key lighting for some of the interior scenes at night as well as the usage of spotlight during a break-out scene at night. Editor Bernard Gibble does amazing work with the editing as its usage of slow-motion to play into the suspense as well as the stylish fast-cutting to showcase the dog’s attacks help play into the film’s suspense. Production designer Brian Eatwell and set decorator Barbara Krieger do fantastic work with the look of Sawyer’s home as well as the animal shelter that Carruthers and Keys run. Sound mixers Don Cahn, Jim Cook, Robert Gravenor, and Robert L. Harman do brilliant work with the film’s sound in capturing the atmosphere of the locations and how animals sound from afar. The film’s music by Ennio Morricone is incredible for its usage of somber piano and lush strings to play into the drama as well as soaring string arrangements for some of the film’s suspenseful moments.
The casting by Jane Feinberg and Mike Fenton is superb as it feature some notable small roles and appearances from Samuel Fuller as Sawyer’s agent, Paul Bartel as a cinematographer during a film shoot, Dick Miller as an animal trainer, Vernon Weddle as a veterinarian, Christa Lang-Fuller as a nurse, Marshall Thompson as the director of the film shoot, Lynne Moody as the actress the dog attacks, Bob Minor as a black animal trainer, and Parley Baer as a mysterious man who appears late in the film. Jameson Parker is fantastic as Sawyer’s screenwriter boyfriend Roland who is wary of the dog as he believes something isn’t right about that dog. Burl Ives is incredible as Carruthers as a semi-retired animal trainer/animal shelter owner who worked in movies as he has concerns about the dog while also watches closely at what Keys does believing it is working.
Kristy McNichol is amazing as Julie Sawyer as an actress who finds the dog and would take care of it but becomes troubled by his actions during a film shoot as she later realizes what kind of dog it is as she is unsure if she made the right decision. Finally, there’s Paul Winfield in a phenomenal performance as Keys as a black animal trainer who sees this dog as a challenge as he is eager to help this dog while is aware that he’s doing something impossible while he would find ways to get the dog to trust him yet has concerns about how this dog would react to society.
White Dog is a tremendous film from Samuel Fuller. Featuring a great cast, striking visuals, Ennio Morricone’s haunting score, and its study of racism and how animals are brainwashed to do horrific things. It is an unsettling film that explores the actions of a white German Shepard and a man’s attempt to try and cure the dog while dealing with the harsh realities of racism at its most rotten. In the end, White Dog is a sensational film from Samuel Fuller.
Samuel Fuller Films: I Shot Jesse James - The Baron of Arizona - The Steel Helmet - Fixed Bayonets! - Park Row - Pickup on South Street - (Hell and High Water) – House of Bamboo - (China Gate) - Run of the Arrow - Forty Guns - Verboten! - The Crimson Kimono
- Underworld U.S.A. - Merrill's Marauders - Shock Corridor - The Naked Kiss - (Shark!) - (Dead Pigeon on Beethoven Street) – The Big Red One - (Thieves After Dark) - (Street of No Return) - (The Madonna and the Dragon)
© thevoid99 2020
Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 9/12/06 w/ Additional Edits & Revisions.
Based on the novel by Jennifer Weiner, In Her Shoes is the story of two very different sisters whose rocky relationship leads to the younger sister to find shelter in the grandmother she had just discovered while the oldest tries to deal with the chaos in her own life. Directed by Curtis Hanson and screenplay by Susannah Grant, the film is an exploration into the world of sisterhood as two different women come to terms with their sisterly bond as well as the mother they lost as they try to find answers with the woman who hadn't been in their life. Starring Cameron Diaz, Toni Collette, Ken Howard, Brooke Smith, Candice Azzara, Mark Feurerstein, Jerry Adler, and Shirely MacLaine. In Her Shoes is a smart and heartfelt film from Curtis Hanson.
The film is an exploration into the life of two sisters where the only thing they have in common is their shoe size as both of them still deal with the wound of losing their mother many years ago. For Rose Feller (Toni Collette), she's a workaholic lawyer who doesn't have much of a social life and often looks plain. For her younger sister Maggie (Cameron Diaz), she's a dyslexic party-girl with no sense of direction as she often causes trouble. After an incident that forced Rose to kick Maggie out, Maggie goes to Florida to the home of the grandmother she had just discovered. Upon meeting Ella Hirsch(Shirley MacLaine), Maggie eventually finds some direction in her life while Rose also finds some new moments that would help her but the two sisters still need each other to sort out things as well as deal with the death of their mother when they were kids. It's a film that could've played to a lot of tropes that is common with female-based comedy-drams that is often tagged as "chick-flicks" but it's a film that has so much more.
Screenwriter Susannah Grant creates a story of these two sisters who diverge and come together to deal with the missing pieces in their family as well as the woman who hadn't been in their life very much in their grandmother. Upon discovering into why Ella wasn't around following the death of their mother, Rose and Maggie are forced to deal with not just some harsh truths about their mother's death. They also deal with their own issues as Maggie is a young woman who didn't grow up with a mother which definitely plays into her lack of direction and the need for money so she can party. For Rose who is always responsible, she has the urge to protect Maggie from the people in her life including a man named Simon Stein (Mark Feurerstein) who was a colleague of hers at a firm as the two fall in love and become engaged. The very few things Maggie and Rose do have in common aside from their shoe-size is their disdain for their stepmother Sydelle (Candice Azzara) who had never liked them either often favoring her daughter Marcia (Jackie Geary). Grant does take stock into structuring the film with such ease where the first act is about the two sisters, the second act is about Maggie meeting Ella and Rose finding her own path in life, and the third is about the two sisters reuniting and mend the broken pieces in their family.
Curtis Hanson's intimate yet character-driven direction is quite simple yet is often very engaging for the way it balances comedy and drama. Shot in South Florida and Philadephia, Hanson's direction creates some unique compositions in its use of medium and wide shots. Even in scenes where the humor is light-hearted in some parts of the film while the drama gets a bit melodramatic but not overtly. Hanson knows how to set up the humor and drama while creating moments that do play into the development of the characters in key scenes as well as the story about the death of Rose and Maggie's mother. Overall, Hanson crafts a very smart and touching comedy-drama about two sisters dealing with the broken pieces in their life.
Cinematographer Terry Stacey does some great work in the shading design for many of the film's interior scenes in Philadelphia as well as some wonderful coloring in the Florida sequences to set the intimacy that Hanson wanted. Editors Lisa Zeno Churgin and Craig Kitson do excellent work with the editing in creating some stylish montages as well as going for some straightforward cutting techniques. Production designer Dan Davis does fantastic work in using the locations, notably Florida for its colorful, vibrant look to convey the peaceful tranquility that Maggie and Ella lived. Costume designer Sophie Carbonell also helps with the look by designing some great clothing not just for Cameron Diaz and Toni Collette but also Shirley MacLaine and the older actresses to give them a look that helps the story. Composer Mark Isham does a wonderful score in playing to the film's vibrancy and character struggle while the music features a great soundtrack mixed in with pop music like Garbage to some reggae featuring the music of Bob Marley.
The film's cast has some wonderful small performances from Jackie Geary as Sydelle's daughter My Marcia, Brooke Smith as Rose's friend Amy, Carlease Burke as the animal shelter manager, model Ivana Milicevic as Rose and Maggie's mother in pictures, Norman Lloyd as the blind professor, and Richard Burgi as Jim. Other notable small roles from Candice Azarra as Rose/Maggie's stepmother Sydelle is funny while Ken Howard is good as Rose/Maggie's father Michael. Notable standout performances include Jerry Adler as the charming Lewis Feldman and a better, funnier supporting role from Francine Beers as Mrs. Lefkowitz. Mark Feuerstein is good as the sensitive, good-natured Simon who brings all the right qualities that Rose needs in a man while having his own moments to be funny when talking about basketball.
Shirley MacLaine delivers another masterful yet heartfelt performance as Ella Hirsch. MacLaine remains to be very beautiful at her age while her wisdom and concern for the young woman prove her mastery at restrained comedy and even more restraint in drama as she brings a lot of ground for Diaz and Collette to work on while having her own fun. It’s MacLaine that really shines in the film as she continues to be a forced to be reckoned with.
Toni Collette delivers another great performance as the more straight-laced, somewhat neurotic Rose who has a lot of physical and emotional insecurities. Collette manages to make her character develop as she has more emotional scenes that are dramatic while having the time to be funny as Collette proves to be one of the most talented actresses of her generation. Cameron Diaz is often known as kind of bubbly yet a whole lot of fun to see. It's easy to forget that she's an actress and she proves that in her role as Maggie. While Diaz starts off in a more fun yet irresponsible personality, she does allow herself to let the character grow where Diaz brings a lot of depth to a woman who still finds fun in helping old women find new clothes or read to the blind professor. It's a fine performance from Diaz while she has great chemistry with Collette and MacLaine.
In Her Shoes is a remarkable film from Curtis Hanson that is highlighted by the radiant performances of Cameron Diaz, Toni Collette, and Shirley MacLaine. It's a film that is funny as well as heartwarming in the way it explores the relationship between sisters as it has something to offer for not just women but men as well. In the end, In Her Shoes is a sensational film from Curtis Hanson.
© thevoid99 2014
