Lawn Dogs (1997)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

John Duigan

Writer:

Naomi Wallace (written by)

Release Date:

15 May 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Innocence is a dangerous friend

Plot:

Newly arrived in an up-market housing development, quiet ten-year-old Devon doesn't quite fit in. Ignoring the urgings of her social-climbing father...

Plot Keywords:

Trailer Home | Ribbon | Selling Cookies | Golf Club | Number 7

Awards:

7 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Mischa Barton	...	Devon Stockard
Sam Rockwell	...	Trent
Christopher McDonald	...	Morton Stockard
Kathleen Quinlan	...	Clare Stockard
Miles Meehan	...	Billy
Bruce McGill	...	Nash
David Barry Gray	...	Brett
Eric Mabius	...	Sean Torrance
Angie Harmon	...	Pamela 'Pam' Gregory
José Orlando Araque	...	Salvador the Mailman
Beth Grant	...	Trent's Mother
Tom Aldredge	...	Trent's Father
Odin the Dog	...	Tracker
Tafeki the Dog	...	Tracker

MPAA:

Rated R for sexuality/nudity, violence and language.

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Rankcolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:MA | Germany:12 | Portugal:M/16 (video premiere) | Spain:13 | UK:15 | USA:R | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Jefferson County, Kentucky, USA

Company:

Rank Organisation, The

Trivia:

The Rank Organization's last film and so the final time their famous gong man is to be seen introducing a movie.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Devon refers to Baba Yaga as "he" several times and describes the character as having chicken legs, however, in Russian faerie tales/folklore Baba Yaga is an old woman and gets around by flying in a mortar and pestle, it is her house that runs about on chicken legs.

Quotes:

Trent: I don't like ribbons, and I got me a hangover.

Movie Connections:

References Sudden Impact (1983)

Soundtrack:

Knockin' On Heaven's Door

Magical realism with a twist

LAWN DOGS

Aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Sound format: Dolby Digital

The haves and have-nots are put under the microscope in John Duigan's diverting drama LAWN DOGS, and it's the haves who come up wanting in every respect. Sam Rockwell (CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND) is the penniless gardener-cum-handyman who makes a fragile living tending the lawns of contemptuous rich folk, all of whom view him with deep suspicion whilst indulging their own dubious peccadilloes behind closed doors. Mischa Barton (THE SIXTH SENSE, TV's "The O.C.") is a lonely 10 year old girl who's been shielded from the world by her wealthy parents following a recent health scare (she has a faulty heart), but she dares to strike up a friendship with Rockwell after stumbling onto his ramshackle home in the woods, a friendship which she pursues against Rockwell's wishes, until their 'secret' is forced into the open and grossly misinterpreted by Barton's vengeful family.

While the moneyed set lives in antiseptic splendour and conceals its hypocrisy behind security measures of every description, Rockwell's character enjoys an open life in a beautiful forest environment, like the witch Baba Yaga in Barton's favourite fairy tale. In fact, there's a magical, otherworldly quality to much of the film (rendered explicit in the final reel), though the central narrative is fairly low-key and revolves around Rockwell's frequent encounters with the dissolute low-lifes who dare to think themselves superior. With his wiry frame and white trash southern accent, Rockwell strikes something of a romantic figure (watch out for his full-frontal nude scene early in the film), though he never stoops to eccentricity or excess. For one so young, Barton is excellent in such a demanding role, and she holds her own against an experienced adult cast (including Christopher McDonald and Kathleen Quinlan as Barton's narrow-minded parents, and Eric Mabius as the rich jock who can barely conceal his attraction to Rockwell). Beautiful cinematography by Elliot Davis (KING OF THE HILL).