Review of Straw Dogs (2011) by Manny C — 21 Dec 2011

I was one of many who thought writer-director Rod Lurie (The Contender, Nothing But The Truth) had a real nerve to remake Sam Peckinpah's 1971 modern classic, a film that divided audiences over its brutal content, especially the debate over what exactly defines rape.

To my surprise, the Straw Dogs remake is quite effective, though pales to the amazing original which saw Dustin Hoffman, as David Sumner, a meek American mathematician who takes his Brit wife, Amy (Susan George) to her hometown where an old boyfriend, Charlie Venner, puts them through hell. Lurie brings in the Deep South instead of England, and James Marsden's David is now a meek L.A. screenwriter taking his tv actress wife (Kate Bosworth) back to the farm she grew up at and the old boyfriend is now played by True Blood hottie Alexander Skarsgard.

For the most part, the new film stays pretty faithful to the original, with Amy being horribly raped and David, oblivious of the rape) humiliated by Charlie and his friends and eventually taking revenge. Peckinpah put the violence right in our faces, making his pretty much choke on it. Lurie is more subtle. Where Peckinpah was more absolute, Lurie is inviting objectivity. Lurie also scores with fine actors who also create objectivity. David is writing a script about Stalingrad, the WWII battle that saw the Soviets hold back an invasion from Hitler, but at a great cost. Lurie aims to show us the wounds and consequences of losing control. It totally justifies the remake. Both films hold up a mirror of humanity's darker nature. A fine effort.