Year of the Dog (2007, USA)

Despite Year of the Dog being written and directed by Mike White, I kept expecting it to veer back toward more traditional comedy/rom-com plotting after the first hour, instead of staking out new territory. Anchored by a surprisingly low-key Molly Shannon, the film is about Peggy, a sweet dog-loving loner whose life becomes uprooted when her darling puppy, Pencil, dies unexpectedly. Watching Year of the Dog is somewhat like seeing the seven stages of grief unfold before you. At some points it's deeply discomfiting, but it has a bigger heart than either Chuck & Buck or The Good Girl, and I ended up really liking where Peggy's journey takes her. It's a little gem of a film, and I hope it ends up finding an audience on DVD.