The Art of Racing in the Rain: Review

A thought-provoking, emotional rollercoaster, that has you cheering, crying and despairing with every character in this year's most heartfelt movie

'The Art of Racing in the Rain' (CREDIT: Twentieth Century Fox/Disney)

by Jack Linsdell

The Art of Racing in the Rain was released in North American cinemas last weekend to the tune of $8 million debut, amounting to a worldwide cume of $9 million. Again, this is yet more evidence that audience's ignore the better made and more richly rewarding, smaller-budget/non-tentpole movies at the cinemas, vowing to see Hobbs & Shaw instead. But, to those who do venture out to see movies like this, they're the ones who come away with a rich reward of having seen such a compelling, thought-provoking, emotional rollercoaster, that happens to be a well written, shot and acted film too. 

As a very proud dog owner myself (of a loving Jack Russell whose more timid than macho to the surprise of most), films about dogs are always guaranteed to emotionally "get me" if done right. My favourite dog movies are Dog Days starring Vanessa Hudgens amongst others, which I describe as "Love Actually but with dogs", and My Dog Skip with Diane Lane and Kevin Bacon which is best presented as "Karate Kid meets Lassie". Yes, I know, unorthodox choices. Well, using that same analogy, I'm pleased to say that The Art of Racing in the Rain has become favourite movie number three in what I'd describe as "The Hate U Give but with dogs". Now, that's not only my review in a nutshell, but it's also ironic. The Hate U Give was my favourite film last year, and yet was the biggest commercial and Oscar snub in the history of film, gaining no recognition beyond strong reviews and a mere $30 million worldwide cume. The Art of Racing in the Rain looks to perform similarly, which is yet another injustice to movies and hugely disappointing. But, the connections don't stop there. Dustin O'Halloran, whose score for The Hate U Give is one of the best soundtracks for film ever written, also scored this flick too. So, yeah...the starr's are aligned. If you've seen the film, you get the pun. 

So, to the more detailed review. Directed superbly by Simon Curtis (whose also responsible for such emotional and film masterclasses like Women in Gold with Helen Mirren/Ryan Reynolds and Goodbye, Christopher Robin Domhnall Gleeson/Margot Robbie), whose always placing us in the scene from the events of Enzo, the Golden Retriever - our protagonist. He becomes the wise onlooker, narrating to us throughout the narrative on the events, what he's learnt from a lifetime of being a man's best friend and the family's heart and soul. Voiced by Kevin Costner, whose soothing tone really conveys everything Enzo is truly feeling to us, perfectly shifting from the emotional to the comedic in an instant, he brings the dog to life is a truly brilliant way. But, Curtis makes sure we are seeing everything from the dog's POV, and this truly allows us to contemplate our own lives and situations as a result. Curtis also captures the visceral excitement of Enzo's owner's (Denny) career as a racing car driver, without ever "over-cutting" or "confusing" us with fast edits or shaky camera work. Indeed, we follow Enzo and Denny throughout the dogs entire life, and without spoiling the many great twists in Mark Bomback's tear-jerking screenplay, the comings and goings of his wife, daughter and his racing career are all seen through Enzo's wise eyes and open ears. 

Talking of the script, and although based on the novel of the same name by Gareth Stein, Mark Bomback (Unstoppable, The Outlaw King) has fantastically adapted (one can presume) the source material into such an compelling, sincere and very "human" look on life. The metaphor of car racing is used as a hopeful analogy on how to live your life, with the hook "the rain is just rain if you make your own conditions" becoming truly inspiring and relatable, and actually a very smart piece of storytelling. He somehow weaves several subplots born from deep lying character conflicts and personalities to create this character drama which we are observing and judging on throughout the entire film, much like Enzo. Although, we are seeing and hearing the story from his POV, we do also feel and understand the other characters too, which increases the "yes, that's interesting" thought every time a character says or does something. It's a very clever script, that deserves to be more recognised than what it ultimately will. But, a clever screenplay is only as good as the actors bringing the words to life. And, Milo Ventimigila who plays the owner Denny and Amanda Seyfried (whose the love interest/wife), are both outstanding. Their chemistry with each other is very believable, to the point that they do really appear to be very much the love, support and carer in one another's lives. It's a masterclass of acting, conveying the emotion without ever "overdoing it" like many amateur actors have a tenancy to do. 

Score wise, Dustin O'Halloran brings another The Hate U Give masterclass to this one, which he co-scored with Volker Bertelmann, and makes sure that if your not already shedding tears, you will be once he works his magic. Truly, he's one of the best composers in the business, and despite how good the storytelling is from a screenplay, direction and acting point-of-view, without the score, the emotion felt by the audience would not be as profound and effective. 

Words cannot begin to give you a sense of how exceptional this movie is. It'll no doubt go down as another underrated movie that many have heard of, few have seen, and even fewer really cherish. However, if you become one of the latter, what you will have is a movie that makes you think, laugh and cry, whilst educating you on how to becomes a better human being, whilst reminding you the value of friendship and love in this world. If you're a dog owner, this one will mean even more too you, and all the little details and incidents depicted between Enzo and the other characters will be so relatable to anyone who has their own dog. Maybe, you won't relate to it as much as me, and maybe it's less "entertaining" in an uplifting way than seeing Statham and The Rock save the world, but The Art of Racing in the Rain has become this year's most profound picture by simply being a movie about humans and a dog for humans with a dog. 

5/5 STARS