Following the escape of three convicts Sheriff Deegan (Kurtwood Smith) reluctantly contacts former bounty hunter and estranged son-in-law Lewis Gates (Tom Berenger) to help assist in their capture. As Lewis and Australian Cattle Dog Zip venture into the Montana Oxbow Quadrangle wilderness, he quickly finds the trail left by the three but someone gets to them first leaving behind no bodies and only a tattered and bloody piece of shirt with Lewis only catching the briefest glimpse of what appear to be Native American warriors. Driven to find the answer to what he saw he enlists the help of professor of Native America studies Prof. Lillian Diane Sloan (Barbara Hershey) for her expertise on tribes in the area, and upon learning of surviving Cheyenne lead by Lone Wolf who ventured into the Oxbow as well as sightings of a child who didn't speak English several years ago, Lewis and Lillian go into the Oxbow to find proof of this tribe.
Last of the Dogmen is a 1995 neo-Western romance written by Tab Murphy which also serves as Murphy's directorial debut. Murphy had written Last of the Dogmen in the 80s around the time of his work on the Jane Goodall film Gorillas in the Mist. Following the success of Gorillas in the Mist as well as the success of films such as Dances with Wolves and Last of the Mohicans which lead to the U. S.'s historical relationship with Native Americans being in the forefront of many audiences minds, Last of the Dogmen was produced by Carolco Pictures for distribution through the short lived mini-major Savoy Pictures. Possibly due to issues within both Carolco and Savoy, Last of the Dogmen received a very muted release opening in September 1995 in seventh place while critical reception was mildly positive with particular praise going to Berenger's performance. While the movie does has a strong performance from Berenger and is initially interesting, the movie slowly falls apart due to a third act collapse built on some really boneheaded character decisions that also leads to many of the various cliches and tropes associated with this genre of 90s era take on Native Americans that's not benefitted from hindsight.
Easily the biggest selling point for the movie is in how beautifully shot the movie is as it takes Western styles and tropes and brings them to a contemporary setting. In many ways the opening 20 minutes almost feel prototypical for the type of stylistic choices we'd see later down the line be it in Justified, Longmire, or the various works of Taylor Sheridan. In fact the opening chase of Lewis tracking the three convicts is so good you almost wish it had just stuck with it. I was still with the movie when it brough in the mystery of who the Native Americans Lewis saw were and his investigation into various incidents around the area as well as his questions towards Barbara Hershey's Lillian. Once Lewis and Lillian find the tribe of Cheyenne that's where we start getting some of the issues that invariably come from this premise as there's a disconnect between the characters we focus on and the Cheyenne as they aren't main characters especially since we the audience have to be relayed what they're saying. I think this issue of a disconnect probably could've been alleviated by having an Indigenous actress play the professor role and rewrite it her being either Cheyenne or part Cheyenne which would give a greater sense of personal investment from a character perspective to this story. Sure, we get some words about why Lillian is driven to research Native Americans and their culture, but that lack of personal connection feels like it creates a schism in the narrative that's never properly resolved especially as the movie is more concerned with the very standard romance between Lewis and Lillian that isn't all that engaging. We also get a really forced climax that comes about from some stupid decisions made by Lewis and the way that sequence of events plays out is just so baffling I'm not sure I could convey what motivated the characters to do them because of how confused they are.
There's a lot of passion and effort put into Last of the Dogmen, but it's also undeniably in the shadow of forerunners in the 90s glut of films exploring Native American culture like Last of the Mohicans or Dances with Wolves that leave the film feeling like another journey through well traversed territory (though it is better than Pocahontas). Aside from some pretty sizable gaffes in logic in the third act there's a good foundation for a movie even if the end result is only passable.
Last of the Dogmen is a 1995 neo-Western romance written by Tab Murphy which also serves as Murphy's directorial debut. Murphy had written Last of the Dogmen in the 80s around the time of his work on the Jane Goodall film Gorillas in the Mist. Following the success of Gorillas in the Mist as well as the success of films such as Dances with Wolves and Last of the Mohicans which lead to the U. S.'s historical relationship with Native Americans being in the forefront of many audiences minds, Last of the Dogmen was produced by Carolco Pictures for distribution through the short lived mini-major Savoy Pictures. Possibly due to issues within both Carolco and Savoy, Last of the Dogmen received a very muted release opening in September 1995 in seventh place while critical reception was mildly positive with particular praise going to Berenger's performance. While the movie does has a strong performance from Berenger and is initially interesting, the movie slowly falls apart due to a third act collapse built on some really boneheaded character decisions that also leads to many of the various cliches and tropes associated with this genre of 90s era take on Native Americans that's not benefitted from hindsight.
Easily the biggest selling point for the movie is in how beautifully shot the movie is as it takes Western styles and tropes and brings them to a contemporary setting. In many ways the opening 20 minutes almost feel prototypical for the type of stylistic choices we'd see later down the line be it in Justified, Longmire, or the various works of Taylor Sheridan. In fact the opening chase of Lewis tracking the three convicts is so good you almost wish it had just stuck with it. I was still with the movie when it brough in the mystery of who the Native Americans Lewis saw were and his investigation into various incidents around the area as well as his questions towards Barbara Hershey's Lillian. Once Lewis and Lillian find the tribe of Cheyenne that's where we start getting some of the issues that invariably come from this premise as there's a disconnect between the characters we focus on and the Cheyenne as they aren't main characters especially since we the audience have to be relayed what they're saying. I think this issue of a disconnect probably could've been alleviated by having an Indigenous actress play the professor role and rewrite it her being either Cheyenne or part Cheyenne which would give a greater sense of personal investment from a character perspective to this story. Sure, we get some words about why Lillian is driven to research Native Americans and their culture, but that lack of personal connection feels like it creates a schism in the narrative that's never properly resolved especially as the movie is more concerned with the very standard romance between Lewis and Lillian that isn't all that engaging. We also get a really forced climax that comes about from some stupid decisions made by Lewis and the way that sequence of events plays out is just so baffling I'm not sure I could convey what motivated the characters to do them because of how confused they are.
There's a lot of passion and effort put into Last of the Dogmen, but it's also undeniably in the shadow of forerunners in the 90s glut of films exploring Native American culture like Last of the Mohicans or Dances with Wolves that leave the film feeling like another journey through well traversed territory (though it is better than Pocahontas). Aside from some pretty sizable gaffes in logic in the third act there's a good foundation for a movie even if the end result is only passable.