When I set the list up, I figured I
would see STRAW DOGS in the theater. I didn't realize that this was
a remake. Having not seen the original, I can't make an intelligent
argument on whether it does or doesn't improve on the Peckinpah film.
I was “in” for the cast. Big TRUE
BLOOD fan and I'm a big fan of James Marsden, James Woods and Walton
Goggins. Kate Bosworth, in general, annoys me, but oh well.
The problem with the movie is, for the
most part, nothing happens. It's reduced to creepy stares from
rednecks and jokes about the soft, mamby pamby screenwriter (hey!).
In the end, the narrative is flat and
not deserving of the cast assembled. Plot lines are introduced and
then not dealt with. When the climax does occur, its a frantic mess
with some entertaining moments but often feels unmotivated and out of
the blue. As if they decided “well we're at the 1 hour mark,
something HAS to happen.” The lack of motivation stems from the
poorly executed script that largely ignores the opportunities for
dialog about the differences between classes, rural/urban and
past/future for a frenzied blood soaked finale with little payoff.
Simple plot, complex characters, and interesting visuals. Sounds a lot better than it plays out.
ReplyDeleteThe plot started out nice. Small town girl gone Hollywood comes back to her backwoods home town (Black Water, Mississippi) with her semi-well-known writer LA hipster husband, who is completely out of place and insensitive to his wife's former way of life. After some odd interactions with the locals, including a great performance by James Woods who plays the racist, violent, and constantly drunk former high school football coach, it becomes apparent that the newly weds have some different views on how to deal with their new lifestyle. This is where the 'complex' character development comes in.
Amy, the former Black Water High School lead cheerleader, seems to play flirty school girl with her husband, David, who often acts entirely too busy or civilized. This become clear after David calls her crazy when she straddles him in their Porsche on some country backroad, pushes her off, and drives home. Some of Amy's actions suggest she even wants some sort of, for lack of a better term, kinky time with her husband, which he doesn't seem to take her up on.
Then there's Charlie, the leader of the Black Water boys and ex-boyfriend of Amy. Obviously still attracted and 'in love' with Amy, Charlie seems to genuinely care about his old flame. He doesn't drool over her, and even berates his friends for doing so. It isn't until he calmly rapes her and let's his buddy rape her that you realize something isn't quite right with Charlie.
Amy never tells her husband that she was raped by Charlie, but she does blame everything on him. I felt like I wanted to call up a marriage counselor on these two….might've been a more rewarding plot line in the end.
Fast forward to the end, after having nearly killed the town crazy, Amy and David find themselves locked in their home (with the town crazy) being threatened by the Black Water boys (who think the town crazy did something to the drunk former football coach's daughter). After the sheriff gets shot, the BW boys decide its the right thing to do to drive through Amy and David's house. At the end of it all, David manages to kill all the boys, including Charlie, who he semi-decapitates by tossing a huge bear trap that he couldn't even lift by himself earlier in the day. Cool. Except that as a female I really wanted to see the girl get revenge on the man who violently attacked her. Or at least tell her husband before, so it was some sort of feeling of 'hey honey, I killed your rapist!'. Nope.
Oh right, the interesting visuals. Digital deer. Digital, CG, faux, deer. That's really all that needs to be said.
A lot happened in this movie, but I mostly just wanted David and Amy to realize they probably should get a divorce.