THE STORY – In a future Paris divided by class, an AI named ALMA oversees society. When its creator is assassinated, a top agent and a jaded cop are forced to work together to solve a murder that may expose the dark secrets of the system they serve.
THE CAST – Gilles Lellouche, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Louis Garrel & Romain Duris
THE TEAM – Cédric Jimenez (Director/Writer) & Olivier Demangel (Writer)
THE RUNNING TIME – 104 Minutes
For French cinéaste Cédric Jimenez, the livelihood and legacy of contemporary policing have permeated the majority of his commercial filmography. In “The Stronghold” (2021), a mediocre Netflix production that inexplicably premiered at Cannes, Jimenez spotlights the lives of three Marseille cops who are sent on a mission to bust a major drug network. In “November” (2022), Jimenez focused his narrative on the subject of domestic terrorism. “November” was based on the November 2015 Paris attacks, where Jimenez predominantly deconstructs the internal investigations and police interventions in the days following the merciless attack. Now, with his latest feature, Jimenez looks to the future with his latest policing saga. “Dog 51” once again reiterates Jimenez’s fascination with depicting policing structures. However, this time around, Jimenez is arguably more conscientious of his copaganda.
Revamping his formula from his tiresome filmography, the sprawling dystopian world effectively interrogates his fictional society’s dependency on artificial intelligence. Set in a futuristic Paris divided into three zones based on economic and social hierarchy, the initial conceit of Jimenez’Jimenez’s latest genre exercise is underwhelming with its conventional premise. On occasion, the tropey dystopia feels as though Jimenez filled out a haphazard Mad Libs to construct his bureaucratic universe. In its opening thirty minutes, “Dog 51” takes its time establishing the juridical order of its Orwellian world. As a result, the pacing in its opening act becomes a sluggish affair.
Beyond the confines of his lackluster worldbuilding, Jimenez effectively builds upon his filmography of policing sagas with a relevant neo-noir revitalisation. At its core, Parisian superstar Adèle Exarchopoulos leads a stacked cast of French heavyweights with a committed performance as the film’s disturbed protagonist. While Exarchopoulos’ performance never goes above and beyond the normal characterisation of disgruntled law enforcement, her muted role effectively provides the film’s integral moral compass through her character’s alluring backstory. The more we learn about the systemic hardships of Jimenez’s universe, the more we feel for her character’s confrontations with her broken government.
In particular, the film’s ideas surrounding artificial intelligence are undeniably powerful. “Dog 51” provides a fair warning on our reliance on synthetic technology. As the film descends into a labyrinth of procedural conspiracy, Cédric Jimenez and Olivier Demangel’s twisty script offers thought-provoking questions for its commercial audience. Forcing the viewer to confront their own dependency on artificial intelligence, “Dog 51” connects the bridge between technological upheaval and the terror of surveillance states. Jimenez strips the commonwealth of its shaky dystopian world of autonomy, depicting the police force as subservient enablers of its authoritarian government. Once more, the depiction draws direct parallels to growing police brutality and judicial malpractice.
The eerie portrait that Jimenez creates with his latest feature is surprisingly relevant. As drones are continuously weaponized with lethal ammunition by genocidal states such as Israel, the bombastic action sequences featured in “Dog 51” are surprisingly more contained than the average sci-fi blockbuster. The kinetic action never feels exploitative, as Jimenez’s fluid direction beautifully captures the social decay of its Parisian setting amidst the intense gunfire. The seamless visual effects rival the average Hollywood production with an economical understanding of scene geography. In particular, Jimenez’s inclusion of well-known Parisian landmarks such as the Seine River amplifies his production value.
What begins as a substandard neo-noir riff on a familiar detective narrative eventually grows into a compelling study on our growing dependency on artificial intelligence. “Dog 51” is directly based on the horrific truths of our contemporary society, utilising its genre veil to comment on our relentless descent into fascism. “Dog 51” successfully mirrors our present-day systemic fallacies by boldly asking challenging questions to its commercial spectatorship. In many regards, it’s the perfect closure to this year’s Venice Film Festival. The film is a high-octane, action-packed ride with an undeniably powerful message at its core.
