A Jarring Remake... Straw Dogs

     It is not often that a film can emotionally shake me to my core. In recent memory the last film to affect me to the point where I had to leave the theater was Precious a film based of of the novel "Push" by Sapphire. It's difficult for me to discuss why films whose prominent themes center on abuse and rape. Abuse and rape are touchy topics, and often difficult to film without crossing boundaries and/or offending people. In my opinion, the acts of physically invading a person's body and battering their mind is a capital offense. Being subject to any form of abuse can mar a person for years. Often altering their social & physical development beyond repair. Speaking from experience, it can take monumental events or years of therapy in order for a person to recover from any form of abuse. Even a once in a lifetime opportunity to speak candidly with a positive role model is all it takes for a person to shed their dark cloak of pain and move on with their life (See my Reflections post).
     Things like rape and abuse can often be avoided. Fear, cowardice, naivety, selfishness, and lack of foresight all play a role in creating bad situations for yourself and others. These are also some of the main themes in Straw Dogs. Straw Dogs is a remake of 1971's dramatic thriller that starred Dustin Hoffman. The remake is helmed by James Marsden (X-Men Trilogy), Kate Bosworth (Superman Returns), and Alexander Skarsgård (True Blood). Unlike the original, Straw Dogs (2011) is set in the deep American south and the professions of the protagonists are changed and vastly improved. The story is essentially about a writer and his wife that move from L.A. to her hometown. Once there they face conflict with the locals, which culminate in a violent showdown of unparalleled intensity.
    James Marsden is perfect as a naive L.A. screenwriter David Sumner. Accustomed to the hustle and bustle of city life and the luxuries afforded by city living is the inevitable downfall of this shortsighted writer. Overly confident in the moral fortitude of his new neighbors, David allows himself and his wife to become targets of advantageous hounds disguised as old friends and honest townsfolk. Kate Bosworth's Amy Sumner is guilty of the same shortsightedness. Only Mrs. Sumner chooses to agitate the situation with her brash actions and immaturity. Together these characters lead us knowingly and painfully to an event that is both graphic and terrible. As biblical references are tossed around, good faith between men become nothing more than an elaborate rouse. Seduction, rape, murder, and even racism bring this film to a terrifying close. Not a single moment is wasted in this gripping portrayal of human indecency.
    

Rating: 4 (Maximum of 5) - Straw Dogs is a well cast, well written, beautifully set menagerie of bigotry and evil deeds.