“Dogleg” presents a series of surreal, low-key vignettes set in Los Angeles that follow many Angelenos. The film primarily focuses on Alan — played by Al Warren, who also wrote and directed the project — a stressed-out independent film director whose important film shoot is jeopardized after he accidentally loses his girlfriend’s beloved dog.
“Dogleg” is an unconventional story from the start and reinforces this notion repeatedly throughout its runtime, especially near the end during an overheard interview with Alan. Many of the vignettes are unfinished short film ideas that may or may not have come from the actual director’s mind instead of his character’s. Introduced late in the film, this dissonance connects to bizarre and complex dimensions of reality and authenticity for the story and characters, making the combination of oddball humor and queasy existentialism much more arresting in retrospect.
Central themes include the consequences of suppressing one’s true feelings, possibly losing one’s true identity, and slipping into solipsism. However, the film intentionally provides no conclusions or answers for the audience. “Dogleg” demands that viewers focus on consistent feelings more than concrete ideas, and it’s refreshing to see a low-budget movie effectively shirk straightforward interpretations with such conviction.
Alan earns the title of protagonist simply because he receives the most screen time. However, after spending enough time with an odd assortment of characters in other non-sequitur vignettes, imagining how vast and difficult everyone’s lives are outside Alan’s self-sabotaging woes becomes easy. The contrast allows the film to creatively illustrate its themes and comedically place Alan’s plight into perspective — regardless of how small and easily lost it is in Los Angeles’ bustling landscape.
Not all of the short stories work since many lack strong backbones. One vignette in particular, which involves an involuntary invitation into a swinger relationship, is teeth-grindingly contrived and unpleasant to watch despite contributing to the overarching theme.
But even at their worst moments, the stories are very well-acted and maintain a fine eye for visual detail. Warren’s performance reigns supreme due to the hilarious and awkward manner in which he carries himself despite any Kafkaesque suffering.
As “Dogleg” concludes its oppressively claustrophobic 82-minute runtime, audiences will likely feel as exhausted and overdrawn as Warren’s panicked hero after being deeply submerged in many anxiety-inducing yet cringingly funny situations. Hopefully, it’s a gratifying exhaustion borne from an authentically challenging experience. The film aims to confound and is completely honest about this from the start, making it difficult to argue with the results when they are so skillfully yet arduously produced.
4 stolen Onewheels™ out of 5
