Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight (2025)

By: Mike Ward on Friday, July 11

R Running Time: 98 mins

SHOULD I SEE IT?

YES

  • If you find this film, the performance by youth actor Lexi Venter is worth the time spent - a stunning child performance that centers and ground the film emotionally.

  • Embeth Davidtz has delivered a raw and affecting directorial debut, with powerful visuals and a sense of the tension and unease surrounding the Fuller family as they sit on the cusp of history.

  • Feels bold at times with how it approaches racism and colonizing attitudes - especially when the family stays on the wrong side of history.

NO

  • Underdeveloped characters stunt the film’s overall impact and power.

  • Properly told from the perspective of the child at the center of the story, Davidtz struggles at times in balancing child-like awareness with real-life realities.

  • Can spin its wheels at times and dip in and out of consistent tone and pacing.


OUR REVIEW

A historical drama, anchored by a stunning child acting performance, Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight serves as the directorial debut of veteran actor Embeth Davidtz. Adapting Alexandra Fuller’s memoir of the same name, Davidtz also stars in the film, set during the final days of the Rhodesian Bush War in 1979-1980. 

The grammatically odd title comes not only from Fuller’s memoir but originates from a line written by British politician and novelist, A.P. Herbert: “Don’t let’s go to the dogs tonight, Mother will be there.” For reasons that become clear, the title is a fitting one. 

Told through the eyes of 8-year-old Alexandra (Lexi Venter) - nicknamed “Bobo” by her family - she sees her mother Nicola (Davidtz) trying to hold the family together as white minority rule is on the verge of collapse in Rhodesia (now known as Zimbabwe). 

Venter is an extraordinary discovery. Not only is she our window into the final days of the war, Bobo provides much of the film’s voiceover. A product of her environment, she refers to the non-white protesters and supporters of opposition leader Robert Mugabe as “Black terrorists” (i.e. those non-white residents opposed to white government rule) and quietly observes how her mother and father react to significant political happenings around them. 

Her dad Tim (Rob Van Vuuren) believes that his family should leave Rhodesia immediately if the Black majority take over the government. Nicola differs strongly in her opinion and is steadfast in wanting to stay. Both parents have instilled a sense of white pride within their family, something Bobo begins to question. When Bobo asks her mother a rather innocent-sounding, but thoughtful and somewhat calculated question about whether her family are racists, Nicola all but explodes in a way that confirms Bobo’s suspicions.

The Fullers likewise employ two Black servants, Sarah (Zikhonia Bail, in a standout performance) and Jacob (Fumani Shilubana), who not only form a bond with Bobo and older sister Vanessa (Anina Reed), but try and help navigate the uncertain environment they find themselves in. Davidtz doesn’t play soft and easy with the subject matter - Nicola can be cruel and unrelenting. She sleeps with a machine gun and is a bit unpredictable, especially if she’s had a drink or two.

Davidtz has her cinematographer, Willie Nel, present Rhodesia as a dust bowl of suspense - there is an almost constant paranoia present in each scene. Nel captures those emotions through a combination of striking close-ups and an observer’s distance of events.

Framing this from a child’s perspective was the right move. However, there’s a lot to juggle here and Davidtz does an admirable job trying to hold all the complex pieces together. That said, a few characters are left behind, not as fleshed out as they should be, and the story fights with itself at times when seeking a cohesive tone and effective pacing and rhythm.

Overall however, this is an impressive first feature. Davidtz is fearless behind the camera, but the ace in the hole is Venter. Her instincts and maturity far exceed her years and she gives one of the year’s finest performances in an unflinching, ambitious story of historical consequence.  

CAST & CREW

Starring: Lexi Venter, Embeth Davidtz, Zikhonia Bali, Fumani Shilubana, Rob Van Vuuren, Anina Reed

Director: Embeth Davidtz
Written by: Embeth Davidtz
Adapted from the book “Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood” by Alexandra Fuller
Release Date: July 11, 2025
Sony Pictures Classics