Review of Straw Dogs

To call Rod Lurie's Straw Dogs a remake of the famed (infamous!) 1971 Sam Peckinpah controversial classic of that name is to do the new film a great injustice as well as to under-rate what has been accomplished here. Lurie's narrative follows the same basic storyline, originally presented in the pulp novel The Siege at Trencher's Farm, about an upscale couple besieged in their rural home by rednecks. All similarity ends there, particularly as to the anti-feminist bias in Peckinpah's movie, most of all as the much discussed rape scene is concerned. Without wanting to give too much away, Lurie has actually managed what might have seemed the impossible by transforming this into a pro-feminist fable, and the manner in which he has done so will be of interest to serious cinema buffs, even as the film will play beautifully to the mass audience that only wants to see an excellent action film, perfectly mounted. Lurie draws the best possible performances out of actors who have been appealing, if nothing more, before this. Here's a film that demands to be seen at the moment yet will also prove of long-lasting value. For anyone who has not noticed before, Lurie has replaced Oliver Stone as our most important creator of socially-conscious films.