'Straw Dogs' Remake: Fight or Flight?

James Marsden

Here’s one that could go really right, or really wrong.

James Marsden (“X-Men’s” Cyclops) has been cast in a remake of “Straw Dogs,” Sam Peckinpah’s 1971 classic about a mathematician who moves to his wife’s hometown for some country seclusion – and gets very little.

The film is incredibly complex and filled with controversial social commentary. Dustin Hoffman’s timid lead character is forced to confront not simply his social awkwardness but his own impotence as a cat and mouse game with a band of blue-collar locals intensifies.

They flirt with and then rape his wife (Susan George) before attacking his home. Hoffman’s character must face his own passivity and relationship to violence.

Here’s the trailer:

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[youtube QPS-YFhhgx8 nolink]

It’s an intense character study rife with brutality, social realism and, some have said, male rape fantasy. The film received an X rating in Britain and the rape scene was edited to receive an R in the U.S.

This is a really interesting time to remake “Straw Dogs.”

The original had Hoffman’s egghead fleeing acrimony in the U.S., campus protests, etc. There was also the subtext of the Women’s Liberation Movement in his weird relationship with his wife.

Now, after 9/11 and the ensuing debates about torture, war and retribution, “Straw Dogs” is again an opportunity to get people talking.

The fact that the new film is about an L.A.-based screenwriter (original novel was about a writer) who moves with his wife to “the deep South” brings to mind all sorts of Red State / Blue State possibilities.

The remake is being directed by Rod Lurie, who brings with him his own baggage, having directed “The Contender” and created “Commander in Chief,” for TV starring Geena Davis. He is currently directing “Nothing But the Truth,” about Valerie Plame and Judith Miller.

That said, the studio backing the film is Screen Gems, which specializes in genre fair such as “Obsessed” and the “Resident Evil” franchise. This is a company much more interested in the kind of film Peckinpah originally made than the type Lurie usually delivers.

Here’s hoping for the best.