Jason Sondhi
The foxhole of the film’s title is both literal and figurative in Nick Dugan’s latest short. A groundskeeper at a posh, Mid-Atlantic countryside retreat is vexed by a fox that is preying on the property’s birds. Taking action, we witness the methodical, assured steps with which he deals with the violent interloper, all while, in a melodious Spanish voiceover, he slowly unspools the story of how he ended up in this place. It is a hypnotically paced monologue, in which the groundskeeper reminisces about a pure soul of a woman, whom he marveled as having “…been jumping onto a hand grenade in a foxhole, every day of her life.”
Violence lurks in Foxhole, be it behind a tree, or an eloquent sentence. Dugan’s metaphor juxtaposes contrasting modes of violence: detached/personal, physical/emotional, selfless/righteous and questions how we might respond – with grace, or vindictiveness, and whether either can be a panacea to pain.
These are heady themes, but, if you choose, they can be largely ignored in the enjoyment of a good yarn. Dugan, as noted in our review of his Chapman University thesis film, You’re Now Beyond Hope, Arizona, is a rare visual stylist, who possesses the soul of landscape photographer, and the pairing in Foxhole of immaculately idyllic and shot settings combined with a perfectly paced voiceover is wonderfully engrossing.
“I really got the chance to focus on composition and shot design in a manner that afforded me plenty of room to think deliberately in the moment”, Dugan on his approach to Foxhole’s aesthetic.
Like in many a cinematic thriller past, Dugan seeks to lull his audience into his rhythm, questioning how far he can stretch the rubber band before audiences balk. I skirted the edge of questioning ‘what is this all getting at’ on a couple of occasions, but the splendor of the imagery, the confidence of the presentation, and the drama of the backstory, kept me riveted, even if would have preferred the well-written script to veer a bit further into the literary.
I wish to be vague with plot details in order to protect your viewing experience, but trust that there is a complication, as there so often must be, and one finds their patience to be rewarded most satisfactorily, as the themes and the tone and storytelling converge back in the present. It is very finely handled by Dugan and shows both great maturation and increased restraint from that thesis film three years ago, a two point chart that plots a trajectory for Dugan that is very promising.
Winner of the Austin Film Festival, alongside selections at Raindance and Mill Valley in 2025, we’re proud to welcome Dugan back to the site for the online premiere of Foxhole. Back on the east coast after graduating, the filmmaker is currently in development on a feature debut, titled Rear Naked Chokehold.