This is a common warning in certain circles that sharing custody a dog following a split is a terrible idea. Experts frequently claim such setups prevent individuals from moving forward, cause practical headaches, spark arguments, and become annoying across the board. As it turns out, in a revelation suited to a direct-to-platform film, it also makes the canine in question to become depressed.
Without minimizing the inner life of dogs – countless people observe their remarkable empathy. To witness a standout portrayal in pet despair, consider a past film. I firmly believe that a dog like Merv, a scruffy terrier type played by a talented dog named Gus, would struggle coping with split households. If this concept an entire Christmas romance on this conflict is sustainable remains rather doubtful.Predictable Foundations
Honestly, Merv, written by its screenwriters and directed by director Swale, never aspires to be anything more than its premise. This is a holiday release from a major tech-and-media conglomerate – the ambitions are modest. Its storyline proves to be simple and direct: former spouses Russ (Charlie Cox) and Anna, portrayed by Zooey Deschanel, realizing that their individual funk is matched by their dog's, embark on a therapeutic trip to a dog-friendly resort. There, inevitably, they will undoubtedly stumble toward the idea that they belong with each other. Ensemble players – played by Chris Redd, Jasmine Mathews, and others – serve as quirky, thinly written, or broadly comic. Its aesthetic carries the feel of a branded content, with a Christmas setting that is obviously artificial – think fake snow surrounding verdant foliage as a warm climate stands in for a wintery Boston.
Where the Film Shines
How these standard ingredients coalesce into something enjoyable depends on the actors' work and one's taste for cinematic comfort food. For the comfort factor, Merv hones in on a demographic – individuals who browse regularly for dog videos. It provides a series of canine-centric sequences. The primary selling point is the dog, and even if it causes some stilted moments between animal action and the actors' responses, the movie succeeds in showing walking sequences, dog depression, and, finally, pure puppy happiness.
The Two-Legged Cast
Such effectiveness cannot be applied for the human side of the story. The film's approach wavers between relationship drama, zany antics, standard rom-com beats, and outright slapstick, not quite landing any one mode. The fault lies not with the actor playing Russ, who is admirably committed the silliness and cringe demanded of the dog resort scenario. His performance contains a endearing lack of ego that supplies the bulk of the chemistry for this on-the-rocks couple. Her co-star Deschanel, as is her trademark, imparts a particular brand of eccentricity that will be to your taste or not. The character comes across as a touch too detached, particularly when contrasted against Cox's vulnerable performance. (On another note, Gus the Dog manages acting depressed – he may not be the award-winner from Anatomy of a Fall, he's definitely a very good boy.)
The film attempts to add substance to Anna and Russ's relationship for scenes without their pet – a regrettable choice, since the title character is by far the cutest element of this film designed for charm. Expectedly, it meets the bare minimum. The cause for their separation could have been more nuanced with more screen time and more subtle storytelling. Ultimately, Merv is gentle and pleasant, hitting precisely what you anticipate. Crafting a story on this shared-custody premise has potential – even if it's not exactly a stroke of genius.
- Merv premieres on Amazon Prime Video this December.
