There is an important line between violence in movies that are significant and simply free. The film has the ability to open our eyes to the world, we can never understand in our own lives, and the sheer brutality can make a difference, whether linked to characters and stories we care about or shown for the value Shock and simple entertainment. Both certainly have their place, but managers need to know where they have to offer, Straw Dogs, the new film by writer / director Rod Lurie, trying to fit into the first category, but is found in the last.
The film begins with David Sumner (James Marsden) and his wife, Amy (Kate Bosworth), driving under Blackwater, Mississippi, hometown of Amy. A couple has moved from the town of Los Angeles - where he is a writer and he is an actor - so that David can work on a new script in peace. Upon arrival, stop at a local bar, where they meet Charlie (Alexander Skarsgard), Amy's ex-boyfriend, who is flirting with him in front of her husband. David was hired by Charlie and his crew to repair the barn roof next to his new home, but the days pass band intimidates a couple more until finally the situation reaches its boiling point.
Although the film is filled with two hits and misses, it is particularly strong use of the juxtaposition of the characters in the film of the weak and strong, both visually and through history. Lurie made the film with a subtle contrast - a quick shot of Charlie is a big step, black boots to little barefoot Amy - the not so subtle - David asked for a Bud Light at a bar that serves only Budweiser. As often as nods, the audience never feels like they are hit on the head or even a look. It runs under the surface.
Unfortunately, this juxtaposition is what works below the surface. As brutal as the film is its portrayal of sex and violence, there is no deep meaning behind it or comment. Although original 1971 Sam Peckinpah reflected the continuing Vietnam War and even the rise of feminism second wave, film Lurie is absent this context, a version of Straw Dogs, which simply turns into horror hillbilly. You can still cheer when a character overcomes his own weaknesses, but without an underlying meaning, the excess being free, rather than essential.
The film also has a fundamental flaw in the casting of James Marsden as David, a role played by Dustin Hoffman in the original. While Marsden does its best to sell the character of a pair of round glasses, do not wimp. An important part of the plot is about Charlie can not understand why Amy wants to be with a man like David, but Marsden is an actor who spent much of his career to play a superhero, and it was still a live action Disney prince. Lurie tries to compensate by making David like a fish out of water - it is an atheist who does not care about football school - but it is not enough when the actor looks like stereotypical fourth start.
With a suitable male dominated, and a stronger frame of reference, a remake of Straw Dogs Rod Lurie could have been much more. The film is not without merit, as it is skill shot, well edited and contains some good performances, but at the end of his mistakes to make the film an overwhelmingly empty.
