Remember when Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion felt like an outlier? This word of warning of a possibility that was unlikely to happen? COVID has certainly changed that. Now, there are more movies than ever where some kind of super virus has wiped out the human population, leaving behind a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Ridley Scott’s The Dog Stars is another, adapted by Mark L. Smith from the book by Peter Heller, and it’s a different kind of movie than we’ve seen from the director in quite some time. While still feeling larger in scope than many films of this genre, it takes a refreshingly personal approach to the material that succeeds until the tone suddenly goes wildly out of wack.
It’s a strong lead performance by Jacob Elordi, who shows real leading man qualities as Hig, a mechanic living off the grid with his loyal canine Jasper, and his survivalist colleague Bangley, played by a particularly ornery Josh Brolin. Hig has, what else, a tragic backstory from happier times before a super plague wiped out most of the world. Now, all he has left is his four-legged sidekick and the hope that there’s still some humanity out there, somewhere. A supposed paradise in Grand Junction might be little more than a dream, but it’s one that Hig clutches on to.
Bangley sees the world for what it actually is. The few pockets of survivors left out there stay isolated, while roaming packs of feral killers stalk the countryside. The threat of them looms large throughout, and Bangley is quick to kill the “roaches” who dare step onto their land. Hig doesn’t let this stop him. One of the most rewarding aspects of The Dog Stars is that it’s not a movie about someone trying to save the world, to find a cure to the plague, or whatever. It’s about Hig and how he just wants to help people, using his plane to transport goods to the Mennonite outpost housing a bunch of kids born after the decimation.
Beautifully shot by cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt, who captures the natural beauty that stands strong even in the aftermath of cataclysm, The Dog Stars moves at a slower pace, charting Hig’s emotional journey. He finds inner peace up in the air, piloting his plane, gliding past the mountains, over large swaths of forests, and through ruined cities. Eventually, he encounters survivors who could be either friend or foe. Margaret Qualley plays Cima, a former medic who quickly takes a liking to him. And Guy Pearce as her father, Pops, who takes a bit of convincing to give Hig the time of day.
The romance that develops between Hig and Cima moves along gradually, like the rest of the film, with Elordi and Qualley finding good chemistry. However, it almost feels out of place in the latter stages of the story, which goes a bit insane and into horrror in ways that don’t make a lot of sense. Allison Janney, wearing a retro stewardess outfit, shows up as the leader of another group of survivors, in a sequence that might’be been pulled from a completely different movie. As quickly as that genre-centric stretch began, it just as abruptly returns to normal, leaving you to wonder what the Hell that was all about in the first place?
My guess is that a longer director’s cut of The Dog Stars is out there somewhere. Scott is notorious for releasing extended versions of his movies, and they are oftentimes a Hell of a lot better. I can see the same thing happening here, especially if it affords more time to Hig and Cima, and shows us more of Bangley’s time trying to survive on his own. While a bit rough around the edges, The Dog Stars offers a different, highly entertaining take on the post-apocalyptic thriller, and a better showcase for Scott’s continued talent behind the camera than the epics he’s favored recently.
The Dog Stars opens on August 28th.
