[Fresh on Criterion] ‘DOGFIGHT’ flouts genre expectations with River Phoenix and Lili Taylor as opposites drawn closer after a mean dating game

Dogfight was a marketing disaster at the time of its release. Nancy Savoca, who got to make a studio movie on her terms, delivered a 1960s, San Francisco-set romance starring teen heartthrob River Phoenix and Lili Taylor (who was a great side character in Cameron Crowe’s Say Anything… two years prior). Warner Bros. thought it was getting a coming-of-age story for a teenage audience, but Savoca wasn’t making that story. She also wasn’t making the proven romantic comedy where a clash of personalities leads to love. And while Dogfight involves dating, the intentions of the ritual are cruel and inhumane to the female sex.

This is a bittersweet youth-in-revolt tale about clean-shaven Eddie Birdlace (Phoenix). He’s bound to Okinawa before fighting in Vietnam, and with his final night of shore freedom in San Francisco, Eddie and three jarhead friends go looking for the ugliest dates they can find. They meet up later at a preselected dive, each with a ‘dog’ of their choosing to determine the ugliest one for a cash prize. The girls are clueless to the ruse – as the soldiers play their parts in acting decent– including Rose (Taylor), Eddie’s desperate pick for the game. She works in a coffee shop, and he finds her alone on break, strumming a folk song on a guitar. Rose isn’t ugly. When Eddie starts to charm her, she becomes suspicious of his intent. But she agrees, and Eddie knows he’s made a mistake in taking her to the dogfight. Rose doesn’t deserve to be put through such humiliation. No woman does.

The expected move to chide him once she discovers the truth is made more impactful when Rose blames all the soldiers for what they have put the women through. Leaving the bar in disgust, Eddie follows her home, clumsily apologizes, and wants to make it up to her with an actual date. Throughout the evening, Eddie and Rose will reveal truths about each other that show a shared sensitivity.

This is the real magic of Dogfight. I avoid calling it a love story because the true growth of the film is just being a better person. Eddie puts on a tough-guy act, masking his own vulnerability with fake masculinity when around his fellow jarheads or in the presence of women. The long night offers poignancy that Eddie will take with him overseas and eventually leads to a final scene epilogue to complete his story. Though, I was debating its inclusion. My biggest issues are timing and immediacy after Eddie and Rose say their goodbyes. But the closing shot manages to say everything without saying anything — a fitting ending.

Bob Comfort, who wrote the film, based it on personal experiences as a marine. Male bonding at the expense of humiliating women stayed with him. Nancy Savoca furthers the material by elevating Rose’s character as equally important. Not necessarily as an agent of change but as an agent of sympathy. Her ability to forgive Eddie for his behavior signals it’s OK to drop acting tough. This is funny because the Eddie Birdlace character is a direct contrast to River Phoenix. Taylor is also well cast as Rose. She is serious and still and has a sympathetic ear.

Dogfight presents a unique perspective, revealing that our characters, products of the Greatest Generation, find themselves as adults in the worst of times. Our dog-hunting Marines, once heroes, become targets in a meaningless war. The women, left as casualties of a different kind, are heartbroken, single, and traumatized by what could have been. Rose’s story, in particular, serves as a mirror to the lives of countless other girls, pondering and waiting for their soldier boys to return.

The Criterion Collection release of Dogfight is a significant milestone, as it marks the film’s debut on the Blu-ray format. Previously, it was available as a DVD snap case release (2003), and later re-released as part of the Warner Archive Collection (2013). The digital master was meticulously created from a 35mm interpositive, scanned in 2K resolution. The original 2.0 surround soundtrack was remastered from the 35mm magnetic tracks and transferred and restored with additional editorial services by John Aspinall at Warner Bros. It’s worth noting that, apart from a few small images on the back cover, the front cover and leaflet inside the keep case feature black and white photographs, sparking curiosity about the film’s potential as a B&W feature. However, this would mean losing the 1960s aesthetic, particularly the vibrant dress-up party scene with the Marines and their chosen girls.

For the special edition features, we get the 2003 audio commentary track with Savoca and her producer-husband Richard Guay; the original trailer; and two new programs. The first is an interview with Nancy Savoca and Lili Taylor conducted by filmmaker Mary Harron (American Psycho, The Notorious Bettie Page). Taylor, having worked with both women, offers keen insight to building and shaping her character Rose. The other program, “The Craft of Dogfight,” has below-the-line talent – including cinematographer Bobby Bukowski, production designer Lester W. Cohen, script supervisor Mary Cybulski, music supervisor Jeffrey Kimball, supervising sound editor Tim Squyres, and editor John Tintori – recalling their involvement in the making of the film. Finally, there’s the illustrated leaflet featuring film critic Christina Newland’s essay “In Love and War.” In the essay, she draws the distinction of the misconception of America’s loss of innocence during the turbulent sixties as the film draws the line between the men’s “callous expressions of machismo” and the war that would increase their drive for violence.

It’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt. Only it is the women of Dogfight who feel the pain first. Our “dogcatchers” have a different kind of date in store, where the losing proposition is their lives. Viewing Nancy Savoca’s drama through this lens – as a poignant time capsule of the era and finding the truth in just being honest – offers an unsentimental gaze until an ending that envelops you.

Grade: B