Straw Dogs is a remake of the 1971 film of the same name that starred Dustin Hoffman. Now, I have never seen that version, so I am unable to compare the two movies, but I am very interested in seeing the 1971 version just to see how tense and violent that one is ’cause I can tell you that this new version has quite a bit of both in it.
Director Rod Lurie (The Contender, Nothing But The Truth) knows this movie has to take the audience to the edge without knocking you off of it. I don’t think he is going for shock value or to disgust people, but he does have every intention of making this Straw Dogs a disturbing thriller that will undoubtedly scare you.
David Sumner (James Marsden) is a Hollywood screenwriter who travels with his actress wife, Amy (Kate Bosworth), back to her hometown in the Deep South after her father passes away. It is a chance for him to write and for her to clean up her father’s place in order to put it back on the market. While it is just a temporary stay for the two, she wants to show him where she grew up, the places she hung out at, and to meet the country folks she left behind.
But David doesn’t fit in and doesn’t make a real attempt of even trying to do so. He wears shoes with no laces, listens to classical music, doesn’t believe in God and drives around in a $100,000 car. He views himself as a person who is better than the “rednecks” who surround him, but he still manages to put a smile on his face and be friendly, especially to Amy’s old flame Charlie (True Blood’s Alexander Skarsgard) and his buddies. David ends up giving them a job to fix up Amy’s dad’s old barn roof and while they act just as polite, they are full of poison.
The most intriguing and important thing about the new Straw Dogs is the motives and flaws of each of the main characters and how it leads to a brutally violent and harsh confrontation. David tries to be the “good guy” and do the “right thing.” And while he keeps getting pushed and pushed by everyone around him, he is able to keep it together, but every person has a breaking point. And when his manhood keeps getting questioned, he answers in the most extreme way imaginable. And the credit goes to Marsden and his powerful performance as a man and husband who loses his grip. He has simply had enough.
It is nice to see Bosworth in something again, and she plays a beauty who seems to not be honest about her past. She loves her husband, but knows he isn’t that interested in where she came from. When Charlie and some of his buddies practically undress her with their eyes, she wants David to care, but he puts more blame on her than them. Amy does come off as a tease and some of the attention she gets is her own fault. Things only go from bad to worse once she is raped. The scene is tough to watch, but I have actually seen worse in other movies like The Last House on the Left and I Spit On Your Grave.
Then, there is Charlie who is supposed to be the villain in the movie, and he certainly isn’t a sweet guy by any means. However, he is in love with Amy and always has been. So when she shows back up, all of the feelings come rushing back and she kind of flaunts her new life and her body in his face. The way David comes off, you don’t really blame Charlie and his buds for messing around with him. But they take things too far and what starts out as joking soon turns serious and very dangerous.
This Straw Dogs’ story is slow-burning and gets rougher and rougher before all hell breaks loose. The movie is gruesome, bloody, tense, and exciting so be prepared for all of it. It is a well-made revenge thriller that also plays as a good horror film. All of the performances are strong and their characters are far from righteous. There is no excuse for what they do and all of their actions are questionable. Lurie is able to make a film like this in an intelligent way while still managing to push the boundaries.
The movie is no masterpiece, but it gets what it wants across. It is about the human spirit and having absolutely no idea what someone is fully capable of. Being unpredictable can be a terrifying thing and Lurie shows us that up close and personal.
Brandon Vick is a member of The Music City Film Critics’ Association and the Southeastern Film Critics Association, the resident film critic of the SoBros Network, and the star of The Vick’s Flicks Podcast. Follow him on Twitter @SirBrandonV and be sure to search #VicksFlicks for all of his latest movie reviews.
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