Most of Rod Lurie's career so far has revolved around engrossing political thrillers with unique twists. My favorite of those was The Contender
, which saw Joan Allen as a controversial candidate to be Vice President. Other films, like Resurrecting the Champ
and Nothing but the Truth
have been less successful, but have interesting things to say so they aren't total disasters. Lurie's next film, Straw Dogs, could be his greatest challenge yet.A remake of Sam Peckinpah's 1971 siege thriller(itself based on a book
by Gordon Williams), James Marsden and Kate Bosworth star as a city couple who return to her hometown in Louisiana, only to be terrorized by a bunch of local guys with too much time on their hands. Here's the thing, Peckinpah's version caused quite a stir for it's portrayal of the main woman in the film, in particular a very suggestive rape scene. There were other issues at play, mainly of masculinity, feminism, and class warfare. There's barely a hint of any of that in this trailer, not at all resembling Peckinpah's thoughtful work. This one looks like a straight ahead thriller, akin to Assault at Precinct 13. With Lurie at the helm it's likely there's more going on than it appears, and it's still a very effective marketing clip. Kate Bosworth is much hotter than I ever gave her credit for, too. Check out the trailer below, and look out for Straw Dogs when it opens on September 16th!
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