Writer/director Paul Schrader is famous for his screenwriting work with celebrated auteur Martin Scorcese on such contemporary classics as Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, The Last Temptation of Christ, and Bringing Out the Dead. Despite an accomplished carrier as a writer though, his directorial efforts (Dying of the Light, The Canyons) have been far less successful. However, his next film, Dog Eat Dog, looks to change all that.
The film is based on the 1995 crime novel of the same by real life ex-con Edward Bunker and stars Nicolas Cage and Willem Dafoe as dueling mad men. However, which of the two actors is crazier in this trailer is open to interpretation. The film appears to have a lot of crazy mayhem and plenty of Schrader’s dark humour interspersed with the film’s action moments.
Check out the trailer below.
The film is perfectly cast, with both Cage and Dafoe immensely capable of playing crazy in their own terms. It’s been a while since Cage has been in a memorable movie, but this looks like one that could see him return to form.
Many of Shrader’s films have been plagued by studio interference and production issues, or at least that is the claim the director has often made of them. However, he has claimed, according to Screen Rant that Dog Eat Dog is “the film [he] wanted” to make, so hopefully we will get the completed product here. It will also give him no more excuses if he is unable to pull it off, especially in what should be a compelling story.
The film does not currently have a planned release date, but they are hoping to pick up a distributor for the film soon. That should not take long if the film is as good as this trailer makes it look.
Last Updated: August 10, 2016
