Red Dog Review

A shaggy dog story that combines elements of every mutt movie ever — The Incredible Journey, Greyfriars Bobby, Lassie, Marley & Me — this is all the more remarkable for being based on real life. A red dog, found in the Australian desert by a bar owner (Noah Taylor) and his wife, is adopted by their entire town, but chooses his own master in inveterate wanderer John (Josh Lucas). Told in flashback as the town stands vigil over a sick Red Dog, it’s an affecting series of anecdotes that may not amount to much but are easygoing entertainment. Cast in much the same mould as The Dish, it’s never quite so gently effective — Lucas is good here, but he’s no Sam Neill — but it would take a very hard heart to find much actually wrong with this.