Film Society shows 'Underdog,' a doc rooting for rural America | Movie Review
Vermont dairy farmer Doug Butler struggles to hold onto his nigh century-old family farm in the intimate, occasionally heartbreaking documentary “Underdog.” Helmed by director Tommy Hyde, the film depicts Butler’s attempts to stave off bankruptcy and avoid selling off his cattle and land amid mounting debt.
“Underdog” alludes to larger societal issues such as industrialized agriculture and tanking commodity prices that have had ruinous effects on the small, family-owned farm in the United States. In one scene Butler marvels at the statistic that farm ownership has declined to a level not seen since before the Louisiana Purchase.
However, befitting a subject who claims to have left his farm for “only five nights in Maine [in] 1975,” the film’s scope is deliberately insular.
Cameras are placed in the confines of spaces such as a deer stand and a pickup truck, capturing the farmer’s day-to-day from a claustrophobically close vantage. Butler’s musings, which range from poignant to humorously foul-mouthed, take the place of more conventional narration. “Depression. Losing everything. The life’s work, the family farm. I go through hell before I get to heaven,” he monologues, candidly diagnosing his situation.
This fly-on-the-wall style pays narrative dividends through quietly observed moments. In one scene, Butler recalls buying out the cattle from a failing farm, wiping tears away as he remembers its owner collapsing in anguish.
A shot of the farmer birthing a calf and clearing its airway to ensure that it’s able to breathe is pointedly juxtaposed with him nonchalantly shooting a diseased cow, evoking the beauty and harsh reality of rural life. B-roll of dogs howling at a full moon, barren winter landscapes, and dilapidated barns features intermittently, providing artfully composed visual motifs for the film’s themes.
Escape is found in the form of Butler’s pack of 22 sled dogs, who pull him on four wheelers and dogsleds. Laughing with a giddiness that belies his 65 years, Butler mushes, beer in hand, in regional sled races, ultimately travelling 4,500 miles to Fairbanks, Alaska, to compete in the 2018 Open North American Sled Dog Championships. Butler’s joy in spite of the crushing economic realities gives the last third of the film an optimistic bent, even if the farmer’s problems back in Vermont still persist.
While the film’s tight focus may not provide sufficient context for the plight of rural farmers and for Butler’s specific financial issues — updates included in the closing credits suggest that an entirely separate film could have been made about his attempts to modernize the farm.
“Underdog” succeeds on the strengths of its empathetic depiction of its subject. Butler’s charmingly garrulous demeanor in the face of dire circumstances is enough to win over one of his creditors, who deems a conference over unpaid bills “a great fun call.” Viewers will likely find that Butler wins them over, too.
If you go
What: “Underdog” presented by the Tallahassee Film Society
When: 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 26, and Sunday, Aug. 27
Where: All Saints Cinema, 918-½ Railroad Ave.
Cost: $11 general admission, $9 for TFS members and students
Visit: tallahasseefilms.com
Hank Nooney is a Ph.D. student in Literature, Media, and Culture at Florida State University.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Tallahassee Film Society presents 'Underdog' documentary
