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Straw Dogs
2011 110 min United States of America R 18+
★5.7
Drama, Thriller
Director: Rod Lurie
🎭 Based on
«The Siege of Trencher's Farm»
byGordon Williams
Trailers
EN
EN
Description
A young couple moves to a quaint southern town. Soon their perfect getaway turns out to become a living hell when dark secrets and lethal passions spiral out of control.
Budget:
$25M
US Gross:
$10.32M
Worldwide:
$10.32M
Starring
James Marsden
Actor
Kate Bosworth
Actor
Alexander Skarsgård
Actor
Awards
2 nominations total
Key opinion
The 2011 remake of Straw Dogs receives a highly polarized response, with opinions split on whether it serves as a competent, gripping thriller or an unnecessary, hollow imitation of the 1971 original. While many viewers praise the strong performances of the lead cast and the film's intense final act, others criticize its logic, thin character development, and excessive, often unmotivated, violence.
| Acting | The ensemble cast, particularly James Marsden and Kate Bosworth, deliver compelling performances that effectively anchor the film's tense narrative. | |
| Theme | The film's exploration of social class conflict—pitting city dwellers against provincial locals—provides a potent, if occasionally formulaic, thematic backbone. | |
| Ending | The final act is a subject of significant debate: some find the shift into violent confrontation to be a cathartic and satisfying payoff, while others view it as poorly executed and logically incoherent. | |
| Pacing | The film's pacing divides the audience, with some appreciating the deliberate, slow-burn tension leading up to the climax, while others find the narrative inert and tedious for the first hour. | |
| Screenplay | The screenplay is heavily criticized for containing substantial plot holes, unmotivated character decisions, and thin characterizations that reduce complex figures to mere caricatures. |