Review of Straw Dogs (1971) by Chris S — 26 Feb 2010

Another one of those movies I can only watch once, Sam Peckinpah's Straw Dogs is a brutally adherent film that sometimes stretches the thin line between abhorring violence and praising it. Ultimately the film is not the misogynistic escapade in brash and horrific episodes that many have made it out to be, but its more about the nature of violence and the limits tested on the common pacifist. The transformation of Hoffman's character from timid, anti-violence citizen to a man struggling to keep himself and his wife safe, as well as his principles as he intends to protect a man who may or may not have killed a young girl, is the stronghold of the film. However, beyond this grappling strength, not much is left for us to substantially appreciate.

The supposed focal point of the film, which does turn the film's demeanor; the controversial rape scene, seems more like an untouched subplot rather than a psychological forte. One minute it drives the film, the next minute it vanishes and Susan George's character is never delved deep enough into regarding it. Straw Dogs is a bit of an infamous film because of its one time controversy for being part of a slew of decade films that edged cinema into a new forte of violence and its subsequent ban from the UK, but now the film doesn't hold up as well into the 21st century, not because the violence has become outdone, but simply because the narrative becomes frazzled, and the plot structures fragmented; it's a good film, but no legend.