THE LAST OF THE DOGMEN
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1995 James Berardinelli
RATING (0 TO 10): 7.4
United States, 1995 U.S. Availability: 9/8/95 (wide) Running Length: 2:00 MPAA Classification: PG (Violence, mild profanity) Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 2:35:1
Cast: Tom Berenger, Barbara Hershey, Kurtwood Smith, Steve Reevis Director: Tab Murphy Producer: Joel B. Michaels Screenplay: Tab Murphy Cinematography: Karl Walter Lindenlaub Music: David Arnold U.S. Distributor: Savoy Pictures
Take the mentality of an old-fashioned Hollywood Western, bleed in elements from Kevin Costner's DANCES WITH WOLVES, and start it out with a sequence culled from THE FUGITIVE, and you get THE LAST OF THE DOGMEN--a surprisingly entertaining, somewhat corny adventure film. And, while there's an obviously politically-correct slant to the story, that does nothing to dilute THE LAST OF THE DOGMEN's enjoyability. The movie isn't as accomplished as DANCES WITH WOLVES, but it doesn't have either the length or quite the same aspirations.
Lewis Gates (Tom Berenger) is an old-time, macho cowboy who loves the rugged outdoors, carries a knife and a gun, and would rather not take a woman into "the roughest country God's ever put on a map." As the story opens, the local sheriff (Kurtwood Smith) has recruited Lewis, the best tracker in the area, to go into the Oxbow Quadrangle in search of three convicts. After some convincing, Lewis agrees, and it doesn't take him long to pick up his quarry's trail. But, by the time he catches up to them, all that's left are ripped clothes and a lot of blood. The bounty hunter returns to town empty-handed and full of questions.
For the answers, he goes to a leading Indian expert, Dr. Lillian Sloan (Barbara Hershey), telling her he believes there are lost warriors in the Oxbow. At first, she thinks he's deluded, but as he presents evidence accumulated from old newspaper clippings, her interest is piqued. Lewis wants one of her male associates to accompnay him into the mountains--he needs someone who speaks Cheyenne. Much to his distress, however, she chooses to come herself, and together they go in search of the last of the Cheyenne dogmen--the possible descendants of survivors from 1864's Sand Creek Massacre.
It's not really all that complicated a story, but someone from Savoy Pictures disagreed, and the result is an extremely irritating voiceover read by an uncredited Wilford Brimley. I'm not fond of this method of storytelling in the best of circumstances, but this is easily the most intrusive and redundant narration in years. THE LAST OF THE DOGMEN would have been vastly improved without it. Just as you're really getting into the story, Brimley's voice pops up to interrupt the flow.
Nevertheless, occasional plot contrivances aside, THE LAST OF THE DOGMEN succeeds on several levels. Despite a two-hour running length, the movie keeps the audience's attention. Berenger and Hershey work well together, and their budding romance remains low-key. The cinematography is gorgeous, with effective use of the exhilarating mountain scenery. It's almost possible to believe that a lost tribe could exist undetected out in that wilderness. And a shot of a high-flying airplane, reminding us that this is 1995, is a nice touch.
Writer/director Tab Murphy pokes occasional fun at the macho cowboy image while simultaneously embracing it through Berenger's scruffy Lewis. But the main point of the movie is that when people finally find something they've spent their entire life searching for, they'll risk anything to protect it. The Cheyenne are Lewis' redemption, and his interaction with them saves a guilt-ravaged spirit. This simple theme lies at the core of an adventure that, while not original, is nevertheless satisfying. THE LAST OF THE DOGMEN may recall DANCES WITH WOLVES, but it seems less a copy than a different story taking a similar path.
- James Berardinelli (jberardinell@delphi.com)
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