34. I like Mike (White) pt.2 - 'Year of the Dog' - an attempt at a feminist reading

I first saw Mike White’s directorial debut in the week I had moved into my current home (which is the first place I have owned) so I was a rather reflective mood. I eventually brought the DVD a year or so later.
I showed this film to a couple of women and they both made very telling remarks along the lines that they thought that this film was going to be a lot more ‘girlie’

The film follows Peggy (Molly Shannon), a mild natured thirty something office worker. We see her interact with her colleagues, namely her boss Robin (Joss Pais) and her desk neighbour/friend Layla (Regina King) and her brother Pier and sister-in-law Bret (Tom McCarthy and Laura Dern). White deliberately has Peggy say very little for the first 15 minutes or so. He has her listen and react to what others are telling her. Peggy at this point is defined by her relationships with others. Peggy acts to reassure her boss when he thinks he is not being given the respect he deserves in the company, reassures Layla she is a good catch after an argument with her boyfriend and listens sympathetically to Bret when she complains about her woes with childcare. Peggy is a prime examine of a nurturing woman. I find it is interesting that Peggy as a woman in a middle position job without a relationship or children is a person other people assume would not have her own problems to share.

Peggy is devoted to her dog Pencil. However one nigh he eats something which poisons him and leads to his death. Peggy is devastated by his death. What is interesting to observe is that the other characters namely Layla and Bret are not necessarily able to extend the same understanding or sympathy to Peggy as she has to them. Note this quote from Layla-‘ I believe that there is somebody on this planet for us all. Even retarded cripple people get married. You just have to be open. So maybe your dog died so your love life could live’ .

Peggy is phoned up by Newt (Peter Sarsgaard), who works in the clinic Peggy took Pencil to in an attempt to save him. He persuades her to take on a troubled Alsatian called Valentine (interesting name!). This affords another telling quote from Layla ‘How are ever going to find a boyfriend if you keep shacking up with dogs?’ Again Peggy’s choices are not ones that fit into a conventional narrative, particularly for a woman. Layla is keen to be married to her boyfriend Don (in spite of their rows and the fact that he has been flirting with other women). She does indeed get engaged and set a wedding date by the end of the film. I actually find the portrayal of Layla reflects my experience that women often end up being the party that think about their relationships and that they often are expected to discuss their relationships amongst each other. It is also an accurate representation of how women perpetuate the pressure to be in a heterosexual relationship. I have personal experience of a very dear female friend who wants me to be in a relationship, just like Layla does Peggy.

Through Newt Peggy starts to get interested in animal rights and under Newts’ (passive aggressive) influence she becomes a vegan. There is a very interesting line that Peggy comes out with when she tells her brother and sister-in-law she is a vegan ‘It's nice to have a word that can describe you. I've never had that before’. For Peggy veganism not only becomes an ethical choice it becomes a way for her to explore and assert her identity. Women are usually expected to take on particular identities by which to identify themselves and find fufilment – mother, wife (such as Bret), or girlfriend (like Layla). When Peggy takes on an identity as a vegan, it is something that the people around her are unable to fully understand and certainly don’t respect. Her brothers’ reaction is "It will be interesting to see how long this lasts."

Peggy tries to start a relationship with Newt but he tells her he is celibate (due to alluded to abuse in his childhood). Many critics found Newt the most interesting character in the film, in part because of his sexual ambiguity and in part due to his passive aggressive treatment of Peggy. I cannot help but feel relieved for Peggy that she does not enter a relationship with Newt as I feel his behaviour is not entirely respectful and it is clear he has deep seated issues which would make him far from an ideal partner. He does remain a concerned friend to Peggy throughout the film. It is important to note that after Newt has rejected Peggy, she does not give up either her animal rights activism or her veganism. Although Peggy gets interested in animal rights and veganism as a way of getting closer to Newt, they become things which in the end become far more important to her than her friendship with him. Most people watching the film would expect the film to follow a conventional ‘romantic’ narrative with Peggy entering a romantic relationship with Newt. The fact this does not happen may account for the fact the film was not particularly successful at the box office as it made it difficult for a mass audiences to get a handle on. The film does not shy away from saying that maybe there is not someone for everyone (something White says on the DVD commentary)- I personally appreciate this message than an entire years output of Rom-coms.

As Peggy’s interest in animal rights deepens her behaviour starts to become rebellious. After Robin refuses to sign her petition against animal testing, she retaliates by writing cheques in his name from the company chequebook to various animal rights charities. She destroys Bret’s fur coats while babysitting and takes her niece and nephew to an animal sanctuary (and then attempts to take them to a slaughterhouse). Peggy is no longer the good natured amenable woman of the films beginning. She becomes argumentative with her brother and tells Layla about her fiancé flirting with another woman during an argument.

After Newt has Valentine put down after he has mauled another dog to death, Peggy’s already fragile mental state is further undermined and she adopts eleven dogs what were due to be put down. She is fired for embezzlement and she attacks her neighbour, trying to scare him in retaliation for his hunting animals. Her brother and sister-in-law take her in and allow her to recuperate. She goes back to her job. But she realises how important animal rights have become to her and the film ends with her going on a protest.
I want to reproduce fully the final words of the film. In a reverse of the opening scenes when Peggy is the one who listens to others, the final moments have Peggy sending the other characters an email telling others how she views the world and why she has made the decision to become an animal rights activist-

'And there are so many kinds of love in this life. So many things to love. The love for a husband or a wife, a boyfriend or girlfriend. The love for children. The love for yourself. And even material things. This is my love. It is mine. And it fills me and defines me. And it compels me on'

We see the other characters reaction to this email, along with shots of desks showing the things that people choose to define themselves by while Peggy goes on a bus to a protest. Peggy’s activism is shown to be as valid as Bret and Piers decision to be parents, Layla and Don’s decision to be married, Robins’ pursuit of his career.
By this point Peggy is rational and able to make clear decisions. Her behaviour at the end if the film and her email are not that of a mentally and emotionally unhinged personn
It is very rare to see a film coming from Hollywood (even the indie side) which argues that it is as valid for a woman to be a political activist in the same way as it is for her to be a wife, mother or girlfriend. It is also rare to see a woman’s journey towards political activism in a Hollywood film.

A quick word about Molly Shannon’s excellent performance. The script was specifically written for her and she makes Peggy a character you feel for and sympathise with even when her behaviour is most challenging. She more than manages to convey her character’s journey.
Mike White himself is a vegan (although he admits to being imperfect) and has a strong interest in animal rights.

This film is one that means a considerable amount to me personally as it allows me to feel good about decisions I have made about my own life and the things that are important to me.