Introduction
By and large, the apocalypse feels a little played out as a subject. Between the zompocalypse, plagues, and war, it has been a subject in both film and streaming that has been done to death. So what can Ridley Scott bring to the subject in The Dog Stars, his latest film? Is it a deep philosophical take, a light look at the end, a dive into the horror of it all, or something in the middle? The Dog Stars isn’t particularly interested in how humanity ended. It’s interested in what makes someone continue living after almost everything that made life worth living is gone.
Synopsis
Based on the 2012 novel of the same name by Peter Heller, The Dog Stars is probably something in the middle. The film covers a lot of ground without going into too much detail about what illness took humanity down or why. It’s a smaller story than that. While Scott’s film does cover some broad storytelling strokes, it still feels personal.
Hig, played by Jacob Elordi, is a survivor. He was a mechanic and can pilot a small Cessna. He lives on a compound with the survivalist Bangley, played by Josh Brolin. Bangley is fine living out his existence in his little piece of the world as long as everyone leaves him alone. He protects their compound from the roving bands of Road Warrior-like crazies who occasionally come their way. Hig has higher aspirations. He flies into Denver, where he has stashes of supplies that he shares between himself and Bangley and a small community of Mennonites.
Hig is also more than a little lonely, dearly missing his wife. On these trips to Denver, he returns to his old home, where you get the feeling he contemplates his own end. If not for his loyal dog, Jaspar, who’s still there, keeping him company, you wonder what might become of him. He’s also been hearing a recording from Grand Junction. This ghost of a clue pushes him to leave the safety of the compound and fly in search of the signal. Along the way, his plane malfunctions, and he must land in a rough pasture. There he meets two more survivors, Zema and Pops, played by Margaret Qualley and Guy Pearce.
Discussion
The plot is nothing special. The dialogue is pretty tight and to the point. The characters are likable. Colorado is gorgeous as a backdrop. The acting is superb and makes up for nearly all the limitations of the fairly bare-bones script. Scott’s direction is excellent, too. We truly feel the desolation of being one of the few people left alive. We also feel how difficult keeping your sanity in this world must be.
The entire cast, Elordi, Brolin, Qualley, and Pearce, is fantastic. They ground the film. There is also an absolutely crazy cameo by Allison Janney that needs to be seen. The Grand Junction sequence comes kind of out of left field and feels like it might have fit better in an episode of The Walking Dead. It’s very different from the rest of the film.
For most of The Dog Stars, the danger comes from isolation and grief, and suddenly Scott drops us into a much more conventional post-apocalyptic nightmare. Yet something like Grand Junction is actually necessary to Hig’s quest. He needs it to happen to set him on his future course and finally push him toward whatever comes next.
Further Analysis
Elordi is wonderful as Hig. You can feel his remorse and sadness over both his wife and his past life, his love for his dog, and his quiet desperation when facing the future. His relationship with Bangley is critical to the story because the two men are coming from very different places. Bangley is fine where he is. Survival is enough. Hig hopes to find something that will give him a reason to continue wanting to live in this world. His relationship with Jaspar is just as critical to the character’s drive in the film. Jaspar isn’t simply Hig’s companion. He is one of Hig’s last connections to the life he had before everything disappeared. Once Jaspar’s part in the story has played out, you really begin to worry about Hig’s existence and his future.
Qualley does a fine job as Zema. Much like Hig, Zema is mourning her past, but maybe she looks toward the future with a slightly brighter eye. Qualley is great here, both gentle and caring. Also, there isn’t a signature lip suck in the film. I liked the interplay between Elordi and Qualley and understood how a relationship like theirs could develop. It is well played and, more importantly, feels natural in this lonely world.
Conclusion
The Dog Stars is a really solid movie. It doesn’t necessarily bring anything new to the post-apocalyptic genre, and it does feel a little drawn out in places. But Scott isn’t really trying to reinvent the apocalypse. He’s using it to tell a smaller story about grief, loneliness, survival, and whether simply staying alive is enough. The acting, cinematography, Scott’s direction, and the humanity of these characters are more than enough to make The Dog Stars an easy film to recommend.
