Straw Dogs

Year: 2011
Genre: Thriller
Director: Rod Lurie

Plot: A screenwriter and his wife relocate to her hometown in the deep South so that he can work on his script. Their presence there ignites tension among the locals who dislike him and his city roots.


The gist: This film is a remake of the 1971 film starring Dustin Hoffman. I've never seen the original though. This version starts off fine, with James Marsden and Kate Bosworth being a believable couple. Marsden pulls off the city boy routine quite well actually.

However, as the story progresses, the film makes less and less sense. It doesn't make sense that Alexander Skarsgard's character, who is the main antagonist, seems like a regular guy who only seems mischievous on the outside, but for the most part seems calm and civilised. It doesn't make sense that other people, especially James Woods' coach character, seem more violent and prone to outbursts than Skarsgard. It doesn't make sense that Bosworth, in an attempt to spite her husband after an argument, would give the local boys a flash of her boobs. It makes even less sense that the climax of the film was triggered because Marsden and Bosworth were attempting to help someone instead of trying to get retribution for what the local boys did earlier. But then again this was also how the original played out (from what I've heard), so there.


The good: Bosworth is always nice to look at. Marsden is solid here in his performance as the city boy who is a fish out of water down south. Dominic Purcell is quite good as the retarded man Marsden and Bosworth try to protect. Some of the violence in the film was fun to watch, even though the set up wasn't always good (one involving a bear trap was awesome).


The bad: Skarsgard is too tame in this film, especially if you know what he's like in True Blood. The above mentioned senseless plot qualifies to be here too. Some parts of the film also feel draggy.


Verdict: It's underwhelming on a whole. Some creative violence is nice, but this film needs a lot of substance, because it barely has any. (2/5)