- Content: “Raw, Heartbreaking and Healing”
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What You Need To Know:
SHEEPDOG is an authentic, superbly written, acted and directed drama that tugs at the heartstrings. The sharp writing elevates the movie from just another drama about recovery to a smart tale that slowly peels back the layers of who Calvin Cole is. Writer/Director Steven Grayhm does an incredible job as Calvin Cole, a man with lots of anger. Vondie Curtis Hall superbly plays Whitney, the father-in-law. Oscar winner Virginia Madsen nails her kind-hearted counselor character who helps Cole in his recovery. SHEEPDOG has a strong Christian, moral worldview with positive references to God and prayer. It also extols gratitude, love, forgiveness, family, compassion, hope, and helping others. However, the movie has lots of strong R-rated foul language. So, MOVIEGUIDE® advises extreme caution.
Content:
Very strong Christian, moral with strong patriotic content concerning the service and sacrifice of people in the military and positive references to God and prayer, including a character says someone said the will of God won’t take you where the grace of God won’t protect you, the same character talks about how he was praying to a God he hasn’t spoken to in a long time, another character says there is no greater love than for each other, which is a reference to what Our Lord said in John 15:13, the same character emphasizes semper fi (always faithful), someone asks if someone will go to Hell for killing people, movie extols gratitude, love, forgiveness, family, compassion, hope, and helping others in need, flags are depicted, a man thanks another man for his service in the military, plus there is a scene where characters go out trick-or-treating in Halloween costumes with two grown men dressed in tutus, because a teenage girl requested it;
71 obscenities, including 62 f-bombs, and five profanities, plus a character passes gas;
A man punches another and beats him up, a man chokes another, man holds a gun at a table, man lies dead in a bathtub, man head butts another, and a character references suicide;
No sex;
A few images of upper male nudity in a bathtub;
A man drinks from a can before driving off, drinks from a wine bottle when he enters his house, man drinks from beer bottles, another man drinks from alcohol bottle in a paper bag, and a man drinks beer at a bar;
A man holds a vape pen but does not use it, one instance of a man smoking a cigarette, driver is charged for having alcohol and drugs in his system, and a man takes excessive medication;
A man and a woman are divorced.
More Detail:
The movie begins with a quote that explains what it means to be a sheepdog as someone who protects his flock and confronts the wolf. In Leavenworth, Kansas, Whitney St. Germain gets released from jail after 30 years and receives a letter from his son, Brandon.
In Montague, Massachusetts, Calvin Cole and his co-workers leave their jobs at Turners Falls Paper Mill because the company closed. Calvin drinks from a can and drives to his house. Calvin turns off the TV, prepares a bath, drinks alcohol, and gets in the bath.
The next day Calvin calls a friend of his and drinks from a can and takes medication. He goes to a clothing store where he hears a whistle. He walks up to a man whom he thinks is the cause of the sound and asks him if he knows him. The man says he doesn’t and puts his hand on his shoulder. Calvin tells the man not to touch him and beats him up, so Security intervenes and tases him.
Calvin wakes up handcuffed to a hospital bed. His police friend, Clarence O’Riordan tells him that he found stuff in his system when he arrested him after assaulting an innocent man in front of his wife and little daughter. After a doctor talks to Calvin, O’Riordan gives him a ride.
During the car journey, O’Riordan passes a pamphlet to Calvin and strongly urges him to go to therapy. Calvin refuses, they argue, and O’Riordan stops the car and reminds Calvin that there is not always going to be anyone to help him. O’Riordan orders him to get out of his car, and Calvin does so after he realizes O’Riordan is serious.
Calvin walks the rest of the way home and sees Whitney lying on his porch. He demands Whitney leave, and Whitney apologizes. Whitney tells Calvin that he is looking for Alice St. Germain. Calvin says he doesn’t know where she is. When Whitney tells Calvin that Alice is his daughter, and he is Brandon’s father, Calvin invites Whitney inside.
SHEEPDOG is an authentic and fantastically acted drama that tugs at the heartstrings and delivers a commendable message about hope and never giving up on yourself or other people. The cinematography makes this movie stand out, as well, with some initial, sweeping aerial shots of the Massachusetts area. The sharp writing elevates the movie from just another drama about recovery to a smart tale that slowly peels back the layers of who Calvin Cole is.
Writer/Director Steven Grayhm does an incredible job as Calvin Cole and gives an authentic performance of a man with a lot of anger, but the viewers come to understand why. Vondie Curtis Hall superbly plays Whitney St. Germain. His chemistry with Grayhm during a particular scene elevates his portrayal to Oscar-worthy levels. After her Academy Award nominated performance in SIDEWAYS, Virginia Madsen nails her character as Dr. Elicia Knox, who helps Cole in his recovery as one of the most kind-hearted people in the movie.
SHEEPDOG needs more scenes between Calvin and Whitney to solidify and strengthen their relationship. There’s also a divorce element that doesn’t resolve in a satisfying manner.
Despite the slow pace, SHEEPDOG has a strong Christian, moral with positive references to God and prayer. For example, a character says that someone said the will of God won’t take you where the Grace of God won’t protect you. The same character talks about how he was praying to a God he hasn’t spoken to in a long time. Another character says that there is no greater love than for each other, which is a reference to what Jesus says in John 15:13. The same character stresses semper fi, always faithful, the motto of the United States Marine Corps. Someone asks if someone will go to hell for killing people? Gratitude, love, forgiveness, family, compassion, hope, and helping others in need are extolled. A man thanks another man for his service in the military. However, there’s a scene where characters go out trick-or-treating in Halloween costumes with two grown men dressed in tutus, because a teenage girl requested it. Sadly, SHEEPDOG has lots of R-rated foul language, which cuts down on its appeal to a broad audience. MOVIEGUIDE® advises extreme caution for adults.
