Much is said in little moments: The entire cast offers jots of humor and insight, from Reilly and Sarsgaard to Laura Dern as a spiny sister-in-law and Regina King as Layla, a vehemently supportive friend.
– Amy Biancolli,
Houston Chronicle,
27 Apr 2007
rotten:
There are those who believe empathy is the quality that separates man from beast, but what does it say that White directs his compassion exclusively toward animals?
– Peter Debruge,
Miami Herald,
27 Apr 2007
fresh:
White's humanist account of a woman more comfortable with animals than people is another intricately crosshatched sketch in his gallery of outsiders.
– Carrie Rickey,
Philadelphia Inquirer,
27 Apr 2007
fresh:
Year of the Dog asks how far we should be willing to go for the love of animals, and for that matter, for love itself.
– Dana Stevens,
Slate,
4 May 2007
fresh:
Though the film falters in terms of its lack of a streamlined narrative, there is no denying that it is packed to the rafters with meaty ideas and characters who are charged with a satisfying moral ambivalence.