Dogfight – Monday 14th April 2025

I watched this early 90s film for the first time; it’s good!

Based on the real misadventures of US Marines, it details a ‘dogfight’. and the consequences for one couple. It’s quite painful to see how callous people can be to one another, just for their own amusement, but that’s how people are.

Fundamentally, this film is a coming of age story about learning to value a person beyond their physical appearance; something we all need reminding of, especially in the social media, ‘filter’ filled world we live in now.

I watched the bonus material (on the blu-ray), and once again, this is a film that greatly benefited from having a female director at the helm. Nancy Savoca talks about how in the original script, the story was entirely centred around River Phoenix’s character, and how she worked to flesh out Lili Taylor’s character, much to the film’s advantage. The ‘undesirables’ of this world are invisible to us; all our eyes ever seem to notice are the attractive members of our society, yet the ‘undesirables’ are often the people with the most depth, personality and heart.

I also liked how Savoca referenced ‘Marty’, another great film that tackles the subject of trying to find love when you’re ‘undesirable’.

Both lead actors shine, but with River Phoenix dying so young, we’re reminded of just how big a loss he was.

Anyway, as with most films, the less you know, the better, so if you fancy a nice character driven ‘coming of age’ film, with a heavy dose of 1960s nostalgia, give it a watch!