By ERIC RED
SEE
RED’S IMDb PROFILE HERE
DOGS (1971)
RATING:
5/5
Director: Sam Peckinpah.
Writers: David Zelag Goodman, Peckinpah.
Cast: Dustin Hoffman, Susan George, David Warner,
Peter Vaughn, Del Henney.
The story of a passive guy
forced into violent action by aggressive thugs is by now a staple of
exploitation films, but was never done better than this classic ‘70’s picture,
controversial even then for its brutality, enduring because of its humanity and
quality. As an aside, I’m shocked how many younger viewers today don’t know
director Sam Peckinpah’s films—not long ago I had dinner with a twentyish studio
executive who had actually never seen “THE WILD BUNCH.”
Dude.
For those who
don’t know, Peckinpah perfected the slow motion quick cutting action shooting
style that influenced and is associated with John Woo and Robert Rodriguez,
neither of whom come close to staging action with Peckinpah’s savage realism and
ferocity. The powerful thriller “STRAW DOGS” was the director’s one real
departure from the westerns and action films he was known for, and since it is a
genre film of sorts, gives me a chance to discuss one of my favorite director’s
best films.
“STRAW
DOGS” is the story of an awkward and passive mathematician named David Sumner
(Hoffman) who moves with his beautiful and casually provocative British wife Amy
(George) to a small village community in Wales, England.
When David and Amy hire a group of rough local workman to fix their barn, one of
whom used to date Amy, a relentless and inexorable game of menace and
intimidation is set in motion by the resentful Welsh goons against the passive
aggressive academic.
Tensions escalate until all hell breaks loose in a bloody
siege on the mathematician’s farm by the hooligans where Hoffman must defend his
home in a primal territorial imperative and kill the invaders or die trying.
The theme of the film is sooner or later we all must face physical confrontation
and have our mettle put to the test. In Peckinpah’s universe, manhood equals
violence, period. This intense film is a daring and intelligent thesis on the
subject, brilliantly acted and filmed with masterful craft.
Despite its
subject matter, don’t watch “STRAW DOGS” expecting a gore scene every five
minutes. It builds deliberately and that’s what’s good about it–it takes a lot
of time developing characters you really become involved with. The relentless
suspense derives from people you care about being menaced and how they react and
the audience imagines they would react in their situation. The violence when it
comes is plentiful, to be sure–feet get shotgunned off, men get crushed in bear
traps and scalded with boiling oil. But the picture sucks you in with good
old-fashioned storytelling and characterization.
The very
young Dustin Hoffman gives a terrific subtle and unpredictable performance of a
bright but cowardly man confronting his own inner demons of fear and shame and
overcoming them in the most primal way imaginable. Authentic and naturalistic,
Hoffman quietly conveys the inner iron buried deep down under David’s nebbishy,
wimpy exterior.
Un-sympathic at times—his character makes you grit your teeth
for David to confront these assholes who keep pushing him–you always identify
with the character, which makes his ultimate heroism cathartic and satisfying to
watch. Hoffman’s understated performance during the house siege, where he does
fearsome battle without ever raising his voice, is just plain great film acting.
Fresh and
lovely Susan George gives a raw nerve of a performance as the wife, brimming
with ripe sexuality and childish vulnerability. Amy is the catalyst for the
mayhem that ensues. Because of a primal female need for emotional reaction
she’s not getting from her husband, she instigates the confrontation between her
spouse and the hooligans just to see him act like a man.
In one memorable scene
she parades with her shirt off by an open window, exposing her breasts to the
workmen on the roof outside. In the film’s most controversial scene, Amy gets
raped, which as it is acted, shot and cut, is what she wants. Despite the girl’s
actions, we still understand and identify with her and when she suffers the
consequences of her provocations, we feel for her.
“STRAW
DOGS” sports the most genuinely menacing gang of goons this side of the
gangsters in “GOODFELLAHS.” As the fat and surly alcoholic leader of the
laborers whose affable gregariousness can explode in vicious brutality at any
moment, Peter Vaughn gives an intimidating performance of true threat and
unpredictable violence. Del Henney plays the good looking stud who used to date
Amy as a manly guy with certain likeable qualities, but a ruthless ugly sexual
competition for another man’s wife that makes him a brute.
The dramatic dynamic
of these workman thugs always saying “yes sir” and “no sir” to Hoffman with
polite contempt and dangerous disregard is sublime. At each other’s throats one
minute, pals the next menacingly conspiring over a pint at the pub, they’re
animals, but believable ones, which makes them damn scary.
I love this
film’s incredible sustained tension throughout—it becomes almost unbearable—and
how that tension is established from the opening scene. And the extended house
showdown is a superbly staged bloody action piece. It was a major influence on
my film “UNDERTOW.” Peckinpah, best known for graphic action sequences, gets
less credit as the master of drama and actor’s director he was.
There’s a
realism, truth and authenticity in his characters nearly unknown in today’s
films, and that’s what I love about ‘em. If you haven’t seen it—you know who
you are–be sure to rent his “THE GETAWAY” with Steve McQueen and a great script
by Walter Hill from the Jim Thompson novel. The best DVD edition of “STRAW
DOGS” was put out by Criterion but is now out of print. Luckily, the film has
just been released on disk by MGM.