Straw Dogs (2011)

L.A. screenwriter David Sumner relocates with his wife to her hometown in the deep South. There, while tensions build between them, a brewing conflict with locals becomes a threat to them both.

Director:

Rod Lurie

Writers:

Rod Lurie (screenplay), David Zelag Goodman (earlier screenplay)

Stars:

James Marsden, Kate Bosworth, Alexander Skarsgård

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
James Marsden	...	David Sumner
Kate Bosworth	...	Amy Sumner
Alexander Skarsgård	...	Charlie
James Woods	...	Tom Heddon
Dominic Purcell	...	Jeremy Niles
Rhys Coiro	...	Norman
Billy Lush	...	Chris
Laz Alonso	...	John Burke
Willa Holland	...	Janice Heddon
Walton Goggins	...	Daniel Niles
Anson Mount	...	Coach Milkens
Drew Powell	...	Bic
Kristen Shaw	...	Abby
Megan Adelle	...	Melissa
Jessica Dockrey	...	Helen (as Jessica Cook)

Storyline

Screenwriter David Sumner travels with his wife Amy in his Jaguar to her homeland Blackwater, in the Mississippi. Amy's father has passed away and David intends to write his screenplay about Stalingrad in the house. David hires the contractor Charlie and his team to repair the roof of the Barn. Amy was the sweetheart of Charlie when she lived there and neither him nor his crew show respect to her. Charlie invites David to hunt deers with his group and him but they leave David alone in the woods and rape Amy. She does not tell to David what happened but when the drunken coach Tom Heddon calls Charlie and his friends to hunt down the slow Jeremy Niles that likes his daughter, David decides to protect not only Jeremy, but also Amy and his honor.

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Plot Keywords:

screenwriter | rape | barn | deer | mississippi | 

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Taglines:

Everyone Has a Breaking Point

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong brutal violence including a sexual attack, menace, some sexual content, and pervasive language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 September 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

Straw Dogs - Wer Gewalt sät

Filming Locations:

Bossier City, Louisiana, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$5,123,760 (USA) (16 September 2011)

Gross:

$10,324,441 (USA) (7 October 2011)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Screen Gems, Battleplan Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital Datasat

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This is the second film in which 'James Marsden' and Kate Bosworth play a couple together - the first was Superman Returns (2006).

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Goofs

In one scene, Amy erases the "3" in the date on David's chalkboard and replaces it with a "4". In a later scene with Charlie, you can see that the "4" that Amy wrote earlier is now written in a different style.

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Quotes

Charlie: You don't think God had anything to do helping the Ruskies?
David Sumner: God?
Charlie: Yeah.
David Sumner: U-u-h...
[chuckles]
Charlie: Why is that funny?
David Sumner: That God would help a nation of atheists?
Charlie: He works in mysterious ways.
David Sumner: Most dangerous line ever uttered.

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Connections

Referenced in Inside the Siege (2011)

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Soundtracks

Flirtin' with Disaster
Written by David Lawrence Hlubek (as David Hlubeck), Danny Joe Brown and Banner Thomas
Performed by Molly Hatchet
Courtesy of Epic Records
By arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

User Reviews

Insulting, as a Remake of Sam Peckinpah's Classic

The screenwriter David Sumner (James Marsden) travels with his wife Amy (Kate Bosworth) in his Jaguar to her homeland Blackwater, in the Mississippi. Amy's father has passed away and David intends to write his screenplay about Stalingrad in the house. David hires the contractor Charlie (Alexander Skarsgård) and his team to repair the roof of the Barn. Amy was the sweetheart of Charlie when she lived there and neither him nor his crew show respect to her.

Charlie invites David to hunt deers with his group and him but they leave David alone in the woods and rape Amy. She does not tell to David what happened but when the drunken coach Tom Heddon (James Woods) calls Charlie and his friends to hunt down the slow Jeremy Niles (Dominic Purcell) that likes his daughter, David decides to protect not only Jeremy, but also Amy and his honor.

"Straw Dogs" is an insulting movie, as a remake of Sam Peckinpah's classic of 1971. The original movie is one of the most disturbing that I have ever seen, with a stylish cinematography, top-notch direction and a scary story. This remake is dull, with stupid situations and non-likable and badly developed characters. My suggestion is, instead of watching this remake, see the 1971 movie again. My vote is three.

Title (Brazil): "Sob o Domínio do Medo" ("Under the Domination of the Fear")