Dog Eat Dog

Three recently released ex-cons, a keyed up murderous psychopath (Willem Dafoe), a muscle bound enforcer (Christopher Matthew Cook), and their ostensible leader (Nicolas Cage), imitate Cleveland cops and rob low level crack dealers before being contracted by the mob to perform a kidnapping. Paul Schrader's Dog Eat Dog, filmed locally with many recognizable east side locations, is a violent, jarring, and intentionally ugly looking film which takes a humorous, metaphysical left turn at the end. ** 1/2 out of ****