The Dog highlights Kate Walsh’s captivating versatility as an actress, and brings awareness to the mental health of veterinarians around the world.
Writer-Director: Danielle Baynes
Genre: Drama, Short Film
Run Time: 12′
Upcoming Screening of The Dog: October 18, 2024 at Newport Beach Film Festival
US Release: TBA
UK Release: TBA
Cinema is often used to share a deeply meaningful message, or to bring awareness to something that most people are unaware of. If constructed well, it can be more visceral and powerful than literature or music, because it blends elements of sound, visuals, and words to provide an immersive experience for the viewer. Director Danielle Baynes uses a mere 12 minutes to convey a stark and often forgotten message about the mental health of veterinarians.
The Dog has had a successful run premiering at film festivals throughout the year. It tells the story of Claire (Kate Walsh, of Grey’s Anatomy), an overworked veterinarian experiencing intense stress on her shift. Seeing the turmoil of beloved animals has produced a similar feeling within her, and she encounters a mysterious dog at the end of her long day.
Kate Walsh makes the most of her time on screen in The Dog. She captures the stress and mental trauma that impact veterinarians in a staggering, though subtle way. Her demeanor shares that the years leading up to her encounter with the dog have worn her down both mentally and physically. Melancholy blue and warm orange hues in every shot support this somber tone in The Dog. The blue colors are especially captivating: they produce a sense of coldness and hopelessness which Claire portrays in every word she forces her trembling body to speak.
The short film takes place in one location, tactfully exuding a sense of motionlessness, the inability that Claire feels to escape from her turmoil. Many of these filmmaking decisions were made with care and genius by cinematographer Stefan Duscio (The Invisible Man). In filmmaking, everything on-screen results from a choice either made or ignored. Duscio demonstrates great command of the craft by utilizing every decision, every angle, every shot to further the film’s goal of bringing awareness to the mental impact of a career as a veterinarian.
The film’s climactic moment is somewhat fantastical, bordering reality and delusion. It captures the essence of Baynes’s point dramatically, but is a departure from the story’s progression in some ways. While the script for these pivotal moments does not avoid falling into predictable lines, its intensity and emotion remain intact. The Dog highlights Kate Walsh’s captivating versatility as an actress, but such star-power does not detract from the film; instead, it captures the experience of veterinarians around the world.
The Dog had began its festival run at HollyShorts Film Festival, Odense International Film Festival, and DC Shorts, and will be screened at the Newport Beach Film Festival in the “Prepared To Be Thrilled” Shorts Block October 18, 2024.
