Overly quirky writing is, typically, the Achilles heel of your garden variety indie character study. The Dogwalker threatens to plod that path but, happily, writer-director Paul Duran is smart enough to imbue his odd characters with a great deal of heart. He was also lucky to be gifted with a superb cast. Will Stewart plays Jerry, a down and out hustler who lucks into a job taking care of cranky invalid Alma(Carol Gustafson) and her dog Lucky. He decides to rob the old lady one night with the assistance of his equally desperate friends (Tony Todd, Cress Williams, and Walter Jones), but when they stumble into Alma's senior citizen bridge party their plans change and they instead become part of the card playing circle. Soon their lives become intertwined, with Jerry carrying on an affair with Alma's cold daughter (Stepfanie Kramer), Tony Todd's character becoming a defacto caretaker for elderly bridge partner Ike (John Randolph), and the whole group chipping in to fix up the garden for $7.50 an hour and a case of beer. At the heart of the film is Todd's superb performance as Vietnam vet junkie Mones--Todd is, quite simply, one of the finest underutilized actors in the country, and his work here is worth the price of admission (or rental) alone. Gustafson is also fine as cranky Alma, and Kramer exudes erotic energy as the pretentious and grasping Helene.The film takes some unusual and daring steps as it nears its end, but it never rings false. It's also not for everyone--there's a lot of shooting up in the film, and it doesn't make apologies for its characters' weaknesses--but The Dogwalker is a surprising, unusual, and at times quite moving little film.
Review of The Dogwalker
