Review of Straw Dogs (1971) by Robert S — 04 Sep 2008

I'm gonna go ahead and assume that any of my friends that read this review have never heard of this movie. It's an early 70s Dustin Hoffman flick about a couple who move to rural Britain. Long story short, the wife is raped by some of the handymen working on the couple's garage and then near the end of the movie Dustin Hoffman's quiet, professor character goes apeshit and kills some people.

This is a fairly widely regarded film. I don't think I've ever heard someone refer to it as a classic, but the synopsis intrigued me and it was a Criterion Collection DVD (usually only very critically acclaimed movies get this treatment).

So, my interest was piqued. I'm sad to say this movie was a complete waste of my time. The acting from Hoffman and Susan George is meticulous to a fault. Everything they say and do sounds so planned and thought out that it just seems fake.

They hardly seem to act like real people, so when conflict arises, I feel no sort of sympathy or support towards them. The writing was decent, but the execution was subpar. This isn't an awful movie by any means, but I could have spent my time watching something better.

Two stars.