A ‘Dogwalker’ leashed to a poky tale-wagger

A lugubrious and airless affair, “The Dogwalker” began its long trek around the festival circuit in 2001. In the interim one of the film’s lead performers, veteran actress Pamela Gordon, died, and the film is now dedicated to her.

The story opens with a woman (Diane Gaidry), a victim of domestic abuse, as she hops on the first flight to anywhere and ends up in Los Angeles. In short order she is robbed and propositioned to turn a trick. Soon she is taken in by a curmudgeonly dog walker (Gordon) who, as it turns out, has doozy of a past all her own.

Written and directed by Jacques Thelemaque -- he and Gaidry are husband and wife -- there seems to be a high level of personal commitment to the project. It is then all the more disappointing that such effort went into something that comes off so hollow and uninspired.

The film’s mood is one of sustained dourness with just a dash of pretension. The characters may be struggling to become unstuck from where they are in their lives, but that should not mean that the film must spend so much time locked in the same gear. It wears thin quickly, particularly when characters are asked to dispense such wise-but-obvious bons mots as “You can’t take care of dogs if you can’t take care of yourself.”

The film may be an ongoing labor of love for those involved, but little of that feeling has found its way into the story or performances. A chore to watch, one can’t help but wonder if there isn’t some way to hire a person to sit through a film like “The Dogwalker” in one’s stead.

*

‘The Dogwalker’

MPAA rating: Unrated

A Bigfoot Entertainment release. Writer-director Jacques Thelemaque. Director of photography Marco Fargnoli. Editor Jeff Orgill. Running time: 1 hour, 29 minutes.

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