Black Dog
Directed by George Jaques
Written by Jamie Flatters and George Jaques
Starring Jamie Flatters and Keenan Munn-Francis
Unrated
Runtime: 1 hour 35 minutes
Available digitally August 19

by Jon Jansen, Staff Writer

Long road trips can be the perfect catalyst to get to know someone. Being stuck in a car for so long will eventually lead to questions, which can lead to deeper conversations. Black Dog follows two teenage boys in this moment as they discover each other’s views of life and its troubles. The film doesn’t hide its melancholy, with the title even using the metaphor “black dog” openly. Despite its heavy-handed approach, Black Dog still finds enough in one of its characters to bring some intrigue to this standard coming-of-age story.

Nathan (Jamie Flatters) and Sam (Keenan Munn-Francis) meet unexpectedly after Nathan finds Sam being mugged in an alley. Nathan aggressively fights off the muggers, sneaks Sam’s wallet into his pocket, and then checks up on Sam. When the encounter ends, Nathan returns to his home as this parent-like figure wants to throw him a party before he leaves the next day. After half-heartedly agreeing to the party, Nathan goes to his room where he wildly tears things off the wall screaming as if he is in pain. Sam when he gets home, he is greeted at the door by the family’s black dog and his father at the kitchen table in a robe looking melancholic. Sam makes his way to the bathroom where he neatly folds pieces of toilet paper and eats them, seemingly as a way to cope with getting mugged. 

The next day, after running away from his home, Nathan returns the wallet to Sam saying he found it that morning. Sam, on his way out for a trip, offers to give Nathan a ride to the train station. Turns out, Nathan was already late and after getting into a confrontation with a worker at the train station, Natan accepts Sam's offer to bring him along for an unexpected road trip together. 

As we are introduced to each of them, it is obvious Nathan and Sam are complete opposites. Nathan is carefree, always finding himself in trouble, and acts like a child, whether that be kicking his feet while sitting making loud banging noises, or childish outbursts. The outbursts in particular come off a bit strange and forced. James Flatters, who is also a co-writer for the film, does a good enough job in his mannerisms making Nathan seem like a grown child. The way he talks, moves, kicks his feet, are all good characterization marks. The over the top outbursts feel unnecessary and makes an already cliche character hard to find any sort of connection to. Sam, on the other hand is always on edge, even too anxious to even pull his car out of his parking spot, and also has an eating disorder causing him to only want to eat toilet paper. It’s of course a strange addiction that Sam tries hard to hide from Nathan on their road trip.

The best parts of the film come in the car, a perfect vehicle for the two to question each other about the places they’re going, if it’s alright to hook up with a flatmate, and singing songs together. These conversations perfectly set up upcoming contentions and connections the two will eventually encounter on the way. Black Dog unfortunately can’t trust these moments, often heightening the drama needlessly and coming on too strong. Most of the time caused by Nathan’s outbursts. With Nathan at one point taking the keys to Sam’s car as Sam is in the shower and rushes off to drive away, only to drive a few feet, scream, and return to their hotel room. There’s no restraint in showing Nathan’s anger. He ultimately becomes an angry teenager cliche.

While Nathan is tied to overly dramatic cliches, Kennan Munn-Francis, in his cinematic debut, soul crushingly plays Sam. It’s easy to overdo something with the high stakes Sam is dealing with. He’s hiding an eating disorder that he knows is deeply strange and it’s understood the great lengths he would go for it to remain hidden. Sam has the most cathartic moments in Black Dog, that bring out the best in the two actors. Dealing with Sam’s issues brings about clever bits of dialogue that cut into the heart of the film. Speaking from a place of real value and a place that feels real. It’s a shame when the film can’t keep that up.

Their connection together is always tried in some way, whether that be through their own shortcomings or challenging problems. The best of this comes after Sam accidentally hits a dog on the road. It’s clear that the dog isn’t going to make it and it’s even more clear that the two have to make some tough decisions. How they come about that solution is a great showcase on how the two fill in for each other’s blind spots. Sam makes empathetic decisions that Nathan can’t understand the importance of, while Nathan makes the tough decisions that Sam is too anxious to make. It’s a great showcase of what strong connections can do for people that struggle to make them.

Black Dog travels in familiar coming-of-age territory. The most egregious cliches are brought on by the way Nathan is portrayed, and spoils any interesting ideas the film may have and excessively escalates the film's drama. Black Dog is bailed out by Kennan Munn-Francis’ terrific portrayal of Sam. The stakes are high for Sam and his attempts at hiding his dark secrets gives the film the tension it needs. It’s fair to question if the focus should’ve solely been on Sam instead of split between the two. As is, the banality of the film weighs heavy throughout and its one interesting character isn’t enough to bring it out of that.