The dog in this is as good an actor as he is adorable, and I appreciated the concept behind questioning whether a dog should be put down for biting multiple people (apparently based on a real case), but what was built around it was too much of a mess to like it. There were lots of attempts to inject comedy and sexual content into the story to make something light and playful out of it, but it was rarely funny, and often creepy. That began right out of the chute when the lawyer's boss talked to her about his favorite blowjob techniques and things like a finger in the butt, the latter of which would be referred to again later relative to the dog. It's just not something you'd think you'd see going into a film about a good boy who's standing trial.
The same thing could be said about the sexually curious 12-year-old's flirtation with the lawyer which includes him referring to something she says as going into his "wank bank" and sleeping over with her because of his abusive parents. Maybe there was a parallel intended between her protective instincts for the boy and how she defends the dog, but it wasn't developed at all. Instead we see him drop by after she's had sex with the animal trainer, where he makes casual conversation with the adults who are still in bed, during which he assumes the man is into bestiality. During an internet uproar over the trial, we also get pictures made by trolls of the lawyer engaged in sex with dogs. It's as if the film wanted to avoid being a tame Hallmark kind of movie and tried to spice things up, but went overboard.
As for the protagonists, the lawyer does things like punch a guy in the face for shouting at her, and says something convoluted about women being closer to dogs because of society, insulting a Portuguese immigrant in the process. Meanwhile, the dog himself has bitten multiple people, including the immigrant in the face which leaves a lifelong scar, and viciously attacks the lawyer in the woods. The film plays up how the prosecution is preying on public fear to stoke this inhuman response (maybe trying to establish a parallel with conservative politicians of the day), but they have a case, especially when you consider instances where people are killed in dog attacks (which the film avoids thinking about).
There is something touching about trying to understand another living creature and being compassionate toward it, but I wish that had been pursued in more meaningful ways. Tonally this is all over the map and its silliness is completely inconsistent with what it tries to do at the end. Even if you're drawn to dog movies, this is one to skip.
