Movie Profile: STRAW DOGS (2011)
| Attribute | Details |
| Title | Straw Dogs |
| Release Date | September 16, 2011 (United States) |
| Director & Screenplay | Rod Lurie |
| Source Material | Based on the 1971 screenplay by David Zelag Goodman & Sam Peckinpah and the novel The Siege of Trencher’s Farm by Gordon Williams |
| Genre | Thriller, Action, Drama |
| Runtime | 109 minutes |
| Distributor | Screen Gems (Sony Pictures) |
| Lead Cast |
• James Marsden (David Sumner) • Kate Bosworth (Amy Sumner) • Alexander Skarsgård (Charlie Venner) • James Woods (“Coach” Tom Heddon) • Dominic Purcell (Jeremy Niles) • Rhys Coiro (Norman) • Willa Holland (Janice Heddon) • Walton Goggins (Daniel Niles) • Laz Alonso (Sheriff John Burke) |
Trailer
Plot Overview
David Sumner (James Marsden), a mild-mannered Hollywood screenwriter, and his actress wife Amy (Kate Bosworth) move to her small, rural hometown of Blackwater, Mississippi, to renovate her deceased father’s house and give David a quiet place to write.
To repair their barn’s roof, they hire a crew of locals led by Amy’s high school ex-boyfriend, former high school football star Charlie Venner (Alexander Skarsgård). The local men quickly resent David’s urban wealth and cerebral demeanor. Resentment morphs into open harassment, escalating dramatically when Charlie and his crew lure David away on a fake hunting trip to assault Amy inside her own home.
Tensions boil over during a local high school football event when Jeremy Niles (Dominic Purcell), a mentally disabled local man, takes refuge at the Sumners’ farmhouse after accidentally fleeing a conflict. An enraged mob led by former coach Tom Heddon (James Woods) and Charlie besieges the house. Pushed beyond his physical and moral limits, David abandons his pacifism to defend his home and survival with lethal force.
