Briarcliff Entertainment has closed a deal for the U.S. rights to Luc Besson’s DogMan. An early 2024 release is scheduled for the film, which stars Caleb Landry Jones. “DogMan” had its world premiere this fall at the Venice Film Festival where a six-minute standing ovation moved Besson to tears.
The reason why I’m surprised by the acquisition is that Besson’s reputation has taken a hit these last few years, his big-budgeted sci-fi “Valerian” bombed and he had a #MeToo scandal involving accusations of rape and sexual assault.
Venice boss Alberto Barbera has mentioned that “DogMan” was one of the first movies he wanted in competition this year. There was applause at the end of its press screening at Venice, but, more curiously, U.S/U.K. critics absolutely hated on “DogMan.”
“This is as ludicrous a film as you'll see all year, maybe ever” — The Guardian
“This numbskulled nonsense movie’s inexplicable Venice Competition premiere” — Variety
“A wacky thriller in need of a leash” — IndieWire
“It’s so bad it had me howling in disbelief” — Telegraph
Back in February, there was a Variety report that “DogMan,” starring the always-excellent Caleb Landry Jones, “wowed buyers” at Berlin’s European Film Market, where it was screened for a select few. It ended up selling fast, to more than a dozen territories.
A trailer for “DogMan” was released earlier this summer. The film keeps being compared to “Joker” and has its broken protagonist (Landry Jones) posing as some kind of vigilante. He cross-dresses as a form of self-therapy to overcome the trauma of his father’s abuse — he was locked in a dog kennel for years as a child. As an adult he forms a close bond with canines as they assist him to help take down a local crime boss.
As mentioned, Besson, who is 64, has been embroiled in controversy these last few years. However, he was exonerated in court twice, including this past June where he was cleared of all charges, following a ruling by the Court of Cassation, the highest judicial court in France.
I still stand by my assertion that his 2014 film, “Lucy,” is a strong (and visionary) action film — It was underrated work from Besson and his lead actress, Scarlett Johansson, which also featured one of the boldest big studio climaxes in recent years.