Movie Review: Chien de Garde

Chien de Garde (Family First) ** ½ / *****

Directed by: Sophie Dupuis.

Written by: Sophie Dupuis.

Starring: Theodore Pellerin (Vincent), Jean-Simon Leduc (JP), Paul Ahmarani (Uncle Danny), Maude Guerin (Mom), Claudel Laberge (Mel).

 

Chien de Garde is the debut film of Sophie Dupuis – who has several shorts under her belt, and to be honest, it kind of feels like a short film that has added significant padding in order to get to 90 minutes. The film repeats itself – again and again – after its first act setup as we wait for the inevitable conclusion to finally arrive. It isn’t a bad film – it has some good acting, and shows promise. But a Chien de Garde at 30-45 minutes what certainly be preferable to the one we got at 90 minutes.

 

The film is about two brothers, living in the Verdun area of Montreal with their alcoholic mother. JP (Jean-Simon Leduc) is in his early 20s, and alongside his 19-year-old brother Vincent (Theodore Pellerin) they work for their drug dealing Uncle Danny (Paul Ahmarani) doing collections and intimidation. JP doesn’t much want this life though – he’s in school to learn a trade to get out, he has a girlfriend (Mel (Claudel Laberge) – but this is the family business. This is what is expected of him. And for Vincent – who has some sort of personality disorder that makes him hyper active, and borderline insufferable at times, - is unlikely to be able to do anything else. Uncle Danny knows the pressure points to push on JP to get him to do what he wants. It isn’t a coincidence that when he feels JP starting to back away, he pushes him to take on a bigger role – one that involves murder – and also starts reaching out to Mel. Anything that may take JP away from the family business – and the family itself – needs to be dealt with.

 

For anyone who watches Chien de Garde, the element they will remember the most (for better or worse) is Theodore Pellerin’s performance as Vincent. For some, he will be insufferable, and drive them to turn off the movie. Pellerin pushes this performance to the edge of what one can you in a film like this in terms of being annoying. Whatever is wrong with Vincent is never spelled out in the film. But he is socially awkward, violent and completely lacks self-awareness, and doesn’t seem to be able to read other people either. He always seems right on the edge of exploding and doing something thoughtlessly violent. He makes everyone around him uncomfortable. He is the reason Mel is moving out of house that she has been living in with JP, Vincent and their mother. He is also the reason JP doesn’t want to leave with her – or leave Uncle Danny. What will happen to Vincent if JP isn’t there to protect him – to babysit him – at all times?

 

It is this brotherly relationship that is really the heart of the film. Pellerin’s performance is more memorable, but Leduc’s performance is clearly superior – as a young man with the weight of the world in his shoulders and it’s starting to show. Strangely, and disappointingly, the two major female characters – Mel and the boys’ mother – are underwritten. Mel in particular is impossible to get a handle on. The film toys with us by showing us her texting Uncle Danny, but then just kind of drops that when it’s not needed anymore. The ending of the film feels more like wish fulfillment than anything else – a way to wrap things up in perhaps not the way we expect it to, but in a way that will make us feel better about what we’ve watched.

 

There are some good things about Chien de Garde – the two lead performances among them, but also the visual look, which is full of subdued colors and muted tones. It’s clear that Dupuis has some skill. But the film never really does anything overly original with its overly familiar premise, and makes some missteps along the way to boot, making it not as satisfying as it should or could be.