A Dog's Purpose

The bond between humans and their dogs is difficult to explain though I will take a stab at it here.  Dogs are incredibly loyal and humans are attracted to the unconditional love that dogs offer, which is less complicated than that of other human relationships.  Dogs give their love based, partially on their breed, on humans who both feed them and give them attention.  I think the unselfconscious nature of a dog’s affection, and they playfulness they take so long to outgrow, is what makes them so popular as companions.

Dog films are a popular form of entertainment I think because so many people own dogs.  Films about dogs tend to be comic, playing on a dog’s natural messiness, (Beethoven or Hotel for Dogs) or dramatic and cut right to the vulnerable emotions of the dogs and the owners who love them (My Dog Skip, Old Yeller).  Turner & Hooch is the rare film that has some of both though the finale of that mostly comic film seemed ill-fitting and kept me from ever revisiting it. 

Perhaps the most popular dog film of the past decade or so was Marley & Me, based on John Grogan’s memoir of his wild yellow Labrador Retriever.  Marley & Me managed to balances both elements as Marley's family seriously love this crazy dog but the comic moments for me (Marley in obedience school, with a petsitter, or at the dog beach) stick out more than the emotional ones. 

One of my favorite books is “Where the Red Fern Grows”, by Wilson Rawls.  The story is about a poor boy named Billy who lives in the Ozarks around the 1920s who buys two coonhounds and develops an incredible bond with them.  There have been two film versions, neither of which had more than a suggestion of the power of the book.  The films recreate the events of the book but were unable to convey Billy’s emotions, which are so vivid in the first person narrative. 

Action films such as Independence Day will place dogs in danger only to see them rescued as a moment to cause audience relief.  A dog’s death is often seen as tragic due to their warm nature yet it is also inevitable.  A sadder element to it is that despite their strong bond with humans a dog’s lifespan is much shorter. 

As always I discuss spoilers for this film so I encourage you to watch the film first.

A Dog’s Purpose takes a heartwarming approach and voices the dog’s thoughts, and by doing so tells most of the story from the dog’s point of view.  I fully recognize that I need to read the book, by W. Bruce Cameron who has written several books now from a dog’s perspective.  It is about a dog that lives five lives in but retains the memories of each.  In his second life, which comprises half the running time, the dog is a red retriever named Bailey who lives with a boy named Ethan during the 60s and 70s.  After his death Bailey becomes a German Shepherd police dog named Ellie, a Corgi named Tino, and finally a neglected St. Bernard mix who is eventually adopted by a now much older Ethan who only becomes aware at the end of the film that his new dog is actually his boyhood dog reincarnated.  Notably when Bailey is in Ethan’s life he serves as something of a North Star, which keeps Ethan and his mom upbeat even though his father is an alcoholic who eventually turns abusive.  During the years when Bailey is gone Ethan’s life is empty and he becomes disillusioned in part due to an accident but also because he did not have Bailey to help him.  As soon as Bailey re-enters Ethan’s life turns for the better.

Despite living five different lives in the film the narrative is very simple, befitting the way a dog interprets life.   There are many convenient turns (Bailey walks several miles to a dog park to find just the dog that can connect him with Hannah, Ethan’s lost love, among others, someone leaves a cage open at a puppy mill that Bailey is able to escape from and just get out of sight).

The director, Lasse Hallstrom, also made Haachi, based on the famous dog in Japan who went to a train station for nine years after his owner’s death, waiting for his owner to appear as he always had.  The film heightens the drama in that the dog starts living at the train station and the community looks after him.  Spoiler alert, it is probably the only film where I waited for the dog to die since at that point the owner (played warmly by Richard Gere) finally reappears.

When I first saw the trailer I suspected the writer had lost a dog and had written the story about somehow reconnecting with the dog later in life.   The post script for the book showed that I was not too far off.

Interestingly the film shows how different types of people treat dogs and how much of it is for the worse.  The happiness of a dog depends greatly on its treatment by its human owners.  The personality of Bailey and all the other dogs he inhabits never changes and he remains optimistic and dutiful.

Half the film focuses on Ethan’s childhood in which he is played by Byce Gheiser and then KJ Apa.  It seems to be the Midwest in an old Americana though Ethan’s father seems to be from the Northeast.  Apart from the challenges of his father, who is mostly just distant until he takes a dark turn just when Ethan is able to defend his mother from him, the life is idyllic with warm colors used in the cinematography to enhance the effect.  One touch I like is that Ethan gives the dogs a couple of nicknames which many people do for their animals.  When life turns south for Ethan, Bailey feels ignored because Ethan stops playing with him.  One of the sweetest moments is when Bailey chases after Ethan as he is driving away.  The scene is fanciful but the emotion in which Ethan’s heart melts when Bailey jumps in the truck is genuine.  Bailey’s depression after Ethan’s departure is moving and I was very glad that Ethan came back to say goodbye to Bailey when the vet put him to sleep.  Hallstrom directs this scene perfectly capturing the dog’s exhaustion and disorientation along with his quick view of Ethan’s appearance. 

The second section, when Bailey is reincarnated as Ellie, a police dog, would be worth exploring further.  It takes up only about ten minutes of the running time.  Ellie now lives with Carlos, a lonely cop (his wife seems to have died) and gradually gets him to open his heart.  While the circumstances of Ellie’s passing seem unlikely (Ellie jumps off a bridge, saving a girl from a river and still has the strength to jump on an assailant). I really felt for Carlos who was growing to love Ellie and now may have been more saddened than ever.  Hallstrom’s staging of the action scene is a little weak and in the end Carlos does not seem very competent, although it makes Ellie more heroic.  I don’t quite believe that Ellie even after being shot would have been able to hold onto the bad guys’ gun.

Tino, the Corgi that comes next, is treated well by his owner Maya, though this section of the film is also skipped over so quickly (even though Tino lives a full life) that only a couple of moments resonate.  Notably Tino indirectly helps Maya find love, which leads to her having a family, but we never see why she was reserved in the first place.  I think the film is so eager to get back to the Ethan story that time in this section is sacrificed. 

The contrast of the early life of Waffles the St. Bernard is stark.  Sadly the couple that owns him leave him chained outside and dirty for years though this is shown quickly and the dog’s spirit never drops.  The husband is controlling and refuses to allow his wife to give him better care. I found this relieving though felt it might be good to show more of this so audiences would be more aware of how many people mistreat dogs.  After the husband abandons him, we do not see the dog cold and hungry and he finds Ethan’s town pretty quickly. 

Dennis Quaid, now taking over the role of Ethan, easily captures first the depressed and then understated optimism of the younger actors who played him before.  I was startled when Ethan took the dog to the pound but Hallestorm wisely lets us see Ethan regret the decision apparently recalling that when he had a dog when he was young life was pretty good.  Ethan perks up as he adopts the dog he names Buddy.  It makes an interesting statement on depression in that a person needs to be willing to be helped.  Immediately Buddy changes Ethan’s life by reuniting him with the convenient widowed Hannah.  It all happens a little fast but with the simplicity of a dog’s perspective.

The climax in which Ethan slowly realizes that Buddy is Bailey is what the film hinges on.  The field setting, the dog’s trick, Rachel Portman's score, and Quaid’s stillness as he tears up realizing he has been reunited with Bailey make for a perfect cinematic moment for which I dare anyone to keep a dry eye.  There is a missed opportunity to have Ethan explain it to as Hannah as she had also been close to Bailey when she was young, and saying goodbye to Bailey was hard for her.  Although at the end of the film both Ethan and Hannah are seen playing with Bailey at a distance I would have loved to have seen Ethan introduce the “new” Bailey to Hannah.

I had a dog growing up that my family and I were extremely close to, which is part of the reason I was able to relate to this story.  After she passed I often wondered where her spirit had gone.  It never occurred to me that a dog could be resurrected as another dog or I might have started hanging out at pet stores J.  When I bought another dog years later and noticed some similar traits (not unexpected as both were mixed breeds with a breed in common) I tried the “A Dog’s Purpose test” and called the new dog by the old one’s name a couple of times but the dog did not react to it so I suppose it is just fiction.

A dog’s death is repeatedly touched upon in the film though only briefly (we see what leads up to it but no scenes of any of the dog’s loved ones in the devastating moments afterwards).  The message seems to be that the body may change but the spirit, and more importantly the purpose, remain. 

The timeline of the film does not quite match up unless the reincarnations do not happen immediately.  Based on Ethan's age about forty years seem to pass between Bailey’s death and Buddy’s reappearance.  We never learn how old Ellie is but I would guess that she was no more than five years old.  Tino seems to live for about 12 years and Buddy is probably chained up for anywhere from two to four years which adds up to about 20-24 years.  However if a few years pass between the lives then it would add up.

Hallstrom convinces the audience that all the different looking dogs are the same, due to their similar perky demeanors, which is essential for the climax.  Josh Gad’s high voice helps the audiences understand the dog’s intentions.

Recently A Dog’s Way Home, based on a another book by W. Bruce Cameron was released and took a similar approach, telling how a lost dog travels a few hundred miles over a two year period to reunite with its owner. 

In conclusion, as a dog owner and lover I could relate to many aspects of this story and was touched by the creative approach used by A Dog’s Purpose.  Bailey is a special dog and I was happy that Ethan got to spend two of his lifetimes with him.  ****