Film Review – Isle of Dogs

Wes Anderson’s Isle of Dog’s

7/10 

Isle of Dogs is Wes Anderson’s 9th feature length film.  Wes Anderson is arguably one of the most unique and stylistic directors ever, that being said I am a massive fan.  Despite being incredibly quirky, Anderson is highly acclaimed for creating immensely creative worlds and characters for whom you care for.  His films are funny, smart, and dramatic. With that forward it should come as no surprise that Isle of Dogs was my most anticipated movie of the year.

The movie takes place in a slightly futuristic alternate Japan where the entire dog population has been exiled to “Trash Island” in an effort to contain the viral Dog Flu that has infected all the dogs.  The plot follows the ward of mayor Kobayashi (he ordered the displacement of the dogs) attempting to rescue his dog on the island, with the help of four democratic alpha dogs. Back in Japan it follows a youth movement attempting to free the dogs and the group of scientists attempting to find a cure for the flu.  Despite it’s cartoonish and childish appearance, this movie has a lot to dissect politically as well as the other themes of responsibility, fear, and power hierarchy in society. None of these themes are communicated in depth but it is still present in the movie.

One of the biggest problems I found with the movie were the characters.  Some of them felt under developed while others got more screen time but didn’t necessarily add much to the story.  This is unfortunate because I had anticipated the underdeveloped characters to be the highlight of the film. My last solid critique is that Bryan Cranston’s character development seems a bit forced to me.

In conclusion Isle of Dogs does many things right.  The humor is fitting, every shot has purpose and has incredible attention to detail, the star cast is fantastic, the characters are interesting, and the story is intriguing.  Wes Anderson’s trademark style along with the stop motion of the film is very satisfying. While the film is not fantastic it did not disappoint me and should definitely be seen by those that loves Wes Anderson, loves quirky movies, and of course loves dogs.