Rent Straw Dogs (1971)

Despite George's bravery, this is a genuinely horrible but also totally unbelievable film - Straw Dogs review by Timmy B

For many people, simply mentioning Straw Dogs conjures up mental images of horror, or if they haven't seen the film, the hysterical & venomous press coverage of it. It is a film which I had wanted to see for many years for a very simple reason: so often the reputation a film has, especially a controversial one, is either totally wrong (many people accused Trainspotting of glamourising drug use when it does anything but,) or people becoming fixated on a particular aspect of it which then becomes the main topic of conversation, totally writing off the actual quality/impact of the film (far too many to name.)

And in many ways, mainly due to it being released when films were really starting to push the envelope in terms of depicting sex/violence (the same year A Clockwork Orange made it's debut,) it was guaranteed that controversy would (ironically) dog this film. But, despite the stellar cast & crew, to me this film is almost total rubbish.

David Sumner (Hoffman) and his wife Amy have moved from the USA (his country,) to Amy's father's house in the Cornish countryside. It is insinuated, but not explicitly stated, that the move was due to the increase in violence in America, prompting mathematician David to apply for a UK grant to escape. However, the town they move to is full of extremely immoral & dangerous people, including men from Amy's past life who massively resent the presence of David. This leads to increasingly violent repercussions & the terrorisation of the newly married couple.

The irony with writing this review, which I have struggled in some respects to put together, is that as much as I have given it 2 stars & it has some of the worst dialogue I have heard in a major motion picture, I cannot deny the horrible impact it had on me. The extended rape scene is without doubt the most horrendous thing you can imagine. It is sub-human behaviour, made all the more unsettling due to the reaction of Amy during it. The slow ratcheting-up of tension also really gets under your skin, making this an extremely uncomfortable watch.

But despite having said all that, I simply hated everything else about this film. The characterisation is terrible, from the totally unbelievable chemistry between David & Amy (how they ever had more than 1 date, let alone exchanged vows is beyond me,) through to their completely illogical actions. David goes (in 1 scene,) from being meek & mild to domineering to the life & soul of the party. He also seems to be totally emotionally repressed, showing his wife almost no affection or support in any way.

As for Amy, the film genuinely doesn't seem to know what to do with her, after Susan George fulfilled the "beautiful & sexually provocative" requirements of her character (this is no slur on George, who does outstanding work with what she is given but cannot fix the significant script issues.) Amy also changes her character traits at the flip of a coin: 1 minute she is a loyal wife trying to support her husband, then berating him for hiring a group of useless builders who she cannot stand, then 30 seconds later deliberately walking topless in full view of them...

There is much more I could say, however honestly, as much as I watched to the end, this was simply to see if the film got better (which it didn't.) For some people, this is Peckinpah's masterpiece, an exercise in slowly turning the screws on a hapless couple with horrific violence to really traumatise it's viewers. But for me, along with many others, it was simply an exercise in watching an extremely poor script being acted out, with ridiculous contrivances (the fact that no-one in the surrounding areas saw a full-on siege taking place for over 20 minutes, including the farmhouse being set on fire & multiple gunshots, and didn't call the police, is one of the most stupid things imaginable.)

Whilst it's place in cinematic history is guaranteed, that doesn't mean it's any good...