Quartile rating: 5.5/10 · 1 rating
Carved from a lifetime of experience that runs the gamut from incarceration to liberation, Dog Eat Dog is the story of three men who are all out of prison and now have the task of adapting themselves to civilian life.
Paul Schrader's adaptation of Edward Bunker's novel is a fitfully energetic crime film elevated by Nicolas Cage and Willem Dafoe's unhinged performances, but the plot is thin and episodic, never building to a satisfying narrative arc. The cinematography has moments of stylistic flair with varied color palettes and experimental filters, giving it some visual personality. The film's tone swings wildly between dark comedy and brutal violence in ways that feel more erratic than deliberate. The ending is abrupt and feels underbaked, failing to pay off the preceding chaos. Novelty is moderate — Schrader brings a certain auteurist stamp, but the ex-con-goes-back-to-crime template is well-worn territory even with the stylistic flourishes.