Review of Straw Dogs (2011) by Adam G — 26 Dec 2011
The remake of Straw Dogs loses itself in its final seconds, when David proclaims quietly that he "got 'em all", and the film lingers too much on the aftermath of this carnage. There's a parallel here between what David and Amy have just overcome and the script that David is working on, but stating as overtly as the film did robs it of its power.
This line was in the original as well, but the final coda of Peckinpah's film that lingers between Niles and David ("I don't know my way home" "That's okay - I don't either") had a powerful political context at the time of its release in the US (a nation fresh off the Vietnam War, when the long-term wounds of which were just beginning to materialize).
The remake doesn't quite reach that level of depth, but it is an expertly crafted, intense and thrilling picture nonetheless.
This review of Straw Dogs (2011) was written by Adam G on 26 Dec 2011.
Straw Dogs has generally received mixed reviews.
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