acosenza17

The first quarter of this film is extremely slow. It meanders through the dull interactions of the lead characters and has almost a home movie feel to it. However, this serves the overall work well. Because when the movie does pick up, I felt that I had connected with the characters in a way that made them seem very authentic. Thus in this case, less was indeed more.

Once the film gets to the points of dramatic tension, the filmmakers do an excellent job of building and maintaining that tension in a singular setting. No easy task. The underwater cinematography is excellent and this is a movie that will particularly resonate with divers (like myself).

What makes this movie particularly compelling, though, is it's authenticity. Faced with a dire situation and traumatic events, the lead characters respond and act as one imagines real people would in such a situation.

I rented Baxter based upon the recommendation of a video store clerk and am glad that I did. The film was unique in that it is shot from the perspective of a dog...but rather than anthropomorphizing the dog, it makes a great attempt to capture what an animal's actual perspective might be. In doing so, it also challenges those conceits which lead people to lay claim to being a "higher" species. The movie achieves this by juxtaposing the behavior of Baxter, who acts without malice but rather out of pure natural impulse, with that of the humans he encounters. By creating this contrast, the film does an excellent job of holding up a mirror to the darker elements of human nature. I'm very glad that I saw this film and would highly recommend it.