🔗 Share this article

It is a widely held belief in certain circles that sharing custody a dog following a split is ill-advised. Experts frequently claim such situations impede former couples from moving forward, cause practical headaches, fuel disputes, and are a nuisance across the board. As it turns out, as a development worthy of a direct-to-platform film, it reportedly leads to our furry friends to feel down.

While respecting the inner life of dogs – countless people attest to their profound sensitivity. If you need masterclass in canine melancholy, consider another performance. There is little doubt that a dog of Merv's nature, a wired-hair terrier mix brought to life by a talented dog named Gus, would find it difficult coping with life in two homes. Whether this premise a feature-length romcom on such a setup is sustainable is a questionable prospect.

A Familiar Formula

To its credit, Merv, written by its screenwriters and under the guidance of director Swale, never aspires to be deeper than what it is. It functions as a seasonal offering from a corporate studio – the ambitions remains surface-level. The plot is destined to be uncomplicated: exes Russ, played by Charlie Cox and Anna, portrayed by Zooey Deschanel, forced to acknowledge that their own sadness is matched by their dog's, take a therapeutic trip to a canine-centric retreat. At this location, predictably, they will presumably stumble toward the idea that they belong with each other. Ensemble players – played by familiar faces – fulfill roles quirky, thinly written, or broadly comic. The film's look has the quality of a platform's in-house production, with a wintry atmosphere that is obviously artificial – exemplified by fake snow surrounding verdant foliage as a warm climate stands in for the Northeast.

The Canine Charisma

How these familiar elements merge into a pleasant experience hinges on the execution and the viewer's appetite for easy entertainment. For the comfort factor, Merv knows its audience – those people who scroll endlessly for cute animal clips. Audiences receive a series of canine-centric sequences. The central draw is Merv himself, and though it results in some awkward editing between what the dog does and the actors' responses, the movie succeeds in showing canine party antics, pet moping, and, finally, pure puppy happiness.

The Human Element

This level of success cannot be applied for the human side of the story. Its style shifts uneasily between serious study, zany antics, standard rom-com beats, and outright slapstick, never fully committing to a consistent feel. The fault lies not with the actor playing Russ, who is fully game the humiliating and funny inherent in the bizarre setting. He brings a likable self-deprecation that provides much of the film's charm for this seemingly ideal couple. Anna's portrayer, true to her usual style, imparts a distinctive offbeat energy that will either resonate with viewers. The character comes across as a little too aloof, notably when contrasted against Cox's heartfelt sincerity. (On another note, the canine performer manages looking despondent – while no the award-winner from Anatomy of a Fall, he remains a scene-stealer.)

Merv tries to add substance to Anna and Russ's relationship for scenes without their pet – a regrettable choice, since Merv is undoubtedly the cutest element of this feel-good picture. Expectedly, it just about gets by. The cause for the split might seem more nuanced with more screen time and more subtle storytelling. As it stands, Merv is light and sugary, fulfilling precisely what you anticipate. Creating a movie on this shared-custody premise isn't a bad idea – but it's hardly a brilliant concept.

• Merv becomes available on Amazon Prime Video on December 10th.