2024 has been a year rich with a multitude of book-to-film adaptations, including titles such as It Ends with Us, Dune: Part 2, and The Life of Chuck, to name a few successes, (not to mention the infamous Argylle). Another adaptation has hit the fall festivals before the year is up, this time by writer/director and actress, Embeth Davidtz. Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight premiered at the Telluride Film Festival and later had its Canadian premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. The film is the Schindler’s List actress’ feature directorial debut, and the memoir it’s based on has some striking similarities to Davidtz’s own youth.

What Is ‘Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight’ About?
Modeled off of a 2001 memoir of the same name by Alexandra Fuller, the film documents her childhood growing up in colonized Southern Africa during the Rhodesian Bush War. This war would eventually turn Rhodesia into Zimbabwe, and Fuller lived in Burma Valley, the center of it all. Fuller was around six years of age, running amok on her parent’s quaint farm, among the African locals and critters in the bush. All the while, the 1980 election neared, which would ultimately mark the end of white rule as Zimbabwe would gain its independence. This meant immense changes for Fuller’s family, though she didn’t understand the stakes at such a young age.

In the film Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight, the near-feral eight-year-old Bobo, portrayed by Lexi Venter, is obviously inspired by Fuller as a child. Bobo is a product of her environment and a blend of those around her who are raising her — notably, her eccentric parents and their local hired help, Sarah (Zikhona Bali). Bobo is naive yet insightful, inquisitive though foolish. She innocently regurgitates derogatory things about the local Africans while balancing a lit cigarette between her small fingers, holding no concept of the hurtful meaning behind her words. Her parents, portrayed by the somewhat negligent and rowdy Embeth Davidtz and Rob van Vuuren, are a bit too preoccupied with military routines and indulging in alcohol to parent their children to any proper extent. So in steps Sarah, the help, to fill this void, and one whom Bobo adores dearly, despite Sarah being an African native.

Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight is a lovely film to lay eyes upon. There is an organic feel to Willie Nel’s tangible cinematography, as he captures both the beauty of the African bush and the unsightliness of Bobo’s dilapidated, ramshackle home with a unique touch. As the film is widely from a child’s point of view, the camera reflects this perspective, flitting around and following after Bobo on her dirt bike, up a tree, or as she dashes under a table with her dogs. The camera is akin to a playmate trying their best to keep up, and the audience is privy to peer through the eyes of this fabricated friend.

‘Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight’ Features a Fantastic Child Performance by Lexi Venter
Image via TIFF

Davidtz, with her feature directorial debut, uses the intimate film to show off her skills as a director with quite a bit of merit. She assembles quite a melancholic story, exhibiting quite a bit of control and vision throughout the film with her close work on the project. Davidtz’s directing is bounds more impressive than her performance, which is serviceable though excessive. She plays more of a caricature at times than a believable farmwife and mother of the late 70s in Rhodesia. The show-stealing performance, however, comes in the form of young Lexi Venter, who plays Bobo. Venter gives one of the most impressive child performances in recent memory, showing remarkable maturity and vast range throughout her work. Her eye acting and facial expressions are as authentic as they come, and she seems to have a surprisingly intelligent grasp of the subject matter. Bobo’s inner monologue musings are as insightful as they are hilarious, but more often than not, she is a stark contrast of innocence against the backdrop of a war she should not even be around to witness.

The gritty, layered premise of such a story being told from the perspective of a child is undoubtedly interesting, but the limited viewpoint brings forth questionable narratives. There are a handful of lost plot points, potential setups that dissolve into nothingness, and many an issue or conflict that is simply introduced, only to never be addressed again. Not to mention the delicate subject matter and dicey material that doesn’t ever seem to get the respect it deserves, as this is ultimately a White perspective story told within the pages of African history. Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight is a fascinating indie flick with enough pull to find its audience. Davidtz does well enough with her first feature, and the story, along with Venter’s incredible performance, is more than enough to pique the audience’s interest enough to perhaps pick up the memoir.

Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight had its premiere at the Telluride Film Festival.