Straw Dogs (1971)
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A mathematician and his wife find their isolated retreat in the Cornish moorland becomes a site of escalating tension and violence.
The story
After securing a research grant to study stellar structures, American applied mathematician David Sumner moves with his wife Amy to a house near her home village of Wakely on the Cornish moorland. They take an isolated farmhouse, Trenchers Farm, which once belonged to Amy's father. They hire local men to work on the property, including Amy's ex-boyfriend Charlie Venner. Tensions in their marriage begin to surface as David's aloofness and the locals' hostility create a volatile atmosphere. When a local incident involving a neighbor's child leads to a series of complications, the couple finds themselves increasingly isolated and confronted by the growing hostility of the surrounding community.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
David Sumner and his wife Amy move to a remote farmhouse in Cornwall to conduct research. They hire local men, including Amy's ex-boyfriend Charlie Venner, to work on the property. The atmosphere grows tense as David's academic detachment clashes with the local men's hostility. After a series of incidents, including the discovery of a dead cat and a local girl's disappearance, the situation escalates. Following a tragic accident involving a local man, the Sumners are confronted by a group of locals who intend to lynch the man. During a tense standoff, a local official is killed, and David is forced into a violent defense of his home. The conflict culminates in a bloody confrontation where David uses traps and weapons to fight off the attackers, ultimately resulting in a bloody scene where he realizes the extent of his own violence. The film ends with David and Amy driving the injured local man back to the village.
- First release year
- 1971
- Runtime (minutes)
- 117
- Production countries
- United States; United Kingdom
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Sam Peckinpah
- Writers
- David Zelag Goodman · screenplay; Sam Peckinpah · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Dustin Hoffman · David Sumner; Susan George · Amy
- Genres
- psychological thriller
- Themes
- masculinity; violence; isolation
- Tone and mood
- tense; violent; menacing
- Setting
- A farmhouse on the Cornish moorland.
- Premise and plot tags
- home invasion; psychological thriller
- Source material / true-story basis
- Gordon M. Williams's 1969 novel, The Siege of Trencher's Farm
- Reception
- The film was highly controversial upon release due to its depiction of violence and rape, but it is considered by some critics as one of Peckinpah's greatest works.
- Awards and nominations
- Academy Award · Best Music (Original Dramatic Score) · nominated
- Production trivia
- The title is derived from a discussion in the Tao Te Ching.; Home Alone's production designer called it a 'kids version of Straw Dogs'.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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