I wanted to like this movie more. It feels like a labor of love and surely took some extraordinary efforts to get made. It was however heartbreaking to see that it was very poorly shot. Montana's beauty suffers unartful framing and desaturated grading. The interiors evoke the look of overhead fluorescent lighting. I thought this look and feel was going to shift when the dog is introduced. IOW the stark horrible look of the beginning would set up a contrast with a more hopeful and loving lushness at some point. No. It stays terrible.

Directing yourself in a film is tough for anyone. It is two huge and important jobs at once. Michael Spears gives a very good performance. The use of singles hurts the integrity of the drama. It breaks the tension between the characters by putting them in separate shots. The editing is also an issue as the cuts come right before a line starts. Better would have been to keep the camera on whichever character had the most to react to or convey visually or use more 2-shots.

Passion for the subject and the story came through despite the shortcomings. I hope the team will try again.

Matt (Rob Grabow) is an alcoholic struggling to get clean. His mother sent him a letter with her dying wish to see him sober. His native American friend Fred (Michael Spears) offers him a 30 day stay at an isolated ranch. He encounters a stray husky.

This is a small time indie. The start has some promise. I like the little discussion between Fred and Matt about the Braves. It's a solid non-direct way to reveal the characters and it's a little funny. It's probably the last interesting scene. While I love a good doggal, that's not enough for a full length movie. Grabow is doing three jobs in this. He's a fine actor. Maybe he's a good writer, but his directing is rather lackluster.

I enjoyed the film, well done, acting good, and story of overcoming addiction, reasons for such addictive behavior explored and explained. The introduction of the dog as a companion and inspiration for living and overcoming was a valid story point. But...the dog was seriously ill. At the vet, not even sure it would survive, yet!, was entered into a serious pulling competition while having its stomach wrapped in order to avoid a relapse. Then all cheers and kudos to the dog and owner for winning. What was the point of putting the loyal dog through that, really? I realize it's a metaphor for the young man's overcoming addiction, but this, in the end, is a form of animal abuse. The dog was so loyal to the point of death. Unnecessary.