Review of Straw Dogs (1971) by Miles H — 21 Jan 2008

The video box bills this movie as a tale of one man's climb from cowardice to courage. That shallow, ill-informed statement could not be further from the truth. Violence here, as in real life, is no means redemption but rather the release of some darkness that arguably resides in every human, even a timid pacifist like Dustin Hoffman's believable and brilliantly played David Sumner.

There are many things going on here: a disintegrating marriage, sadomasochistic desires, and escalating tensions between locales. What it all amounts to (and it's a thrilling and harrowing experience getting to that point) is a climax that is one of the most powerful statements of anti-violence ever made.

Ironically, the staement is made through a scathing and unflinching finale of violent acts, committed largely by the unlikely "hero" of the film. Naturally, the film was controversial upon its 1971 release, but when one looks at American cinematic regression in its depiction and slow pornographic views of violence, its apparent that this is one of the most important movies ever made, resounding louder than ever now.

Perhaps the most important moment of the film is Susan George's disturbing smile during the infamous rape scene. With one smile, George and Peckinpah diminish all moral comfort for the audience, which a film about violence should do.

As violence can be seen as the death of morals, how can one find such reason or principles within the act of beating a man to death with a fireplace poker or shoving another into a bear trap headfirst? When such acts of cruelty become morally sound in mainstream society, no matter the context, it's clear that the said society is headed down the long road towards ruin.

Peckinpah saw this, and this film is a testament of an intellectual filmmaker with a set of balls: a rare commodity in Hollywood.