Straw Dogs (2011)
Certified: 18
Duration: 110 minutes
Directed by: Rod Lurie
Starring: James Marsden, Kate Bosworth, Alexander Skarsgård, James Woods, Dominic Purcell, Rhys Coiro, Billy Lush, Laz Alonso, Willa Holland, Walton Goggins, Anson Mount, Drew Powell
KRS release
Rod Lurie’s Straw Dogs is a very faithful remake of the classic 1971 Sam Peckinpah picture that starred Dustin Hoffman. However, the feel is different, the film being more of a glorification of violence and a horror picture, rather than a thriller.
The first film was based on the novel The Siege of Trencher’s Farm by Gordon Williams; this remake is rather based on the script of the 1971 picture.
David Sumner and Amy (James Marsden & Kate Bosworth) seem to be the perfect couple. She is an actress in a popular TV series, while he is a Hollywood scriptwriter.
While he is caught up writing a script about the Battle of Stalingrad, they move to Amy’s old house in Blackwater, Mississippi.
The barn has been damaged by a hurricane and needs extensive work. David hires a crew led by Amy’s high school beau Charlie (Alexander Skarsgård ) to repair the barn. From the start the crew frown at David’s big city manners and seem to view him as not very manly. They then start looking at Amy in a lewd manner which frustrates her. They also treat David as dirt which leads Amy to see him as a weak man.
Events spiral out of control and at one point David must decide to stop playing by the rules or he will not survive.
The 1971 film was a landmark film for Hollywood. It was released in the same year as A Clockwork Orange, marking this film as untouchable in status. This new version has the misfortune of being lost among a recent spate of remakes and vigilante films.
It asks the same questions as the firsf film: Is Amy asking for trouble by dressing the way she does? Does David need to be violent and macho to exert his manhood and command respect?
The film’s rape scene, while harsh, is less harsh than the original scene. The final siege is a fitting culmination.
The film is graced with good performances. Prison Break’s own Dominic Purcell is spot on as the mentally troubled Jeremy Niles, while Kate Bosworth excels as the heroine. James Marsden is given the thankless role of trying to fill Dustin Hoffman’s shoes yet he fails to really bring out the wanton abandon in the final crescendo of violence.
The film is well paced and will keep the audience, especially newcomers to the story, on the edge of their seat. This new version will never achieve the cult status of the original, but despite its faults, it is a better film than one would have expected it to be.