Lawn Dogs
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Movie Reviews of Lawn Dogs
Movie Review: A mind-altering film
Summary: 4 Stars
For heaven's sake, don't read further reviews below this one if you don't like spoilers, that's the drawback to these public review areas, people tell too much. This is a great DVD to just buy and watch without a prior clue. Anyway, first let me say I gave this four stars instead of five only out of annoyance at the blatant Marxist messages, which for me detract from the enjoyment of the film. Yes, Ms. screenplay writer, we all know that the financially successful are sadistic scoundrels (I've made it by scrimping and saving and investing for years, so I must be a d___head by now, right?), and those who are living paycheck-to-paycheck are noble heroes, hopelessly trapped beneath the heartless capitalists' doberman paws...*not*! But such a memorable film, excellent casting. I can't imagine any pair pulling this off like Sam Rockwell and Mischa Barton. Barton, I think it was Roger Ebert who said, must have fifty different faces in her reportoire. Apart from her standout acting, her appearance is captivating; her face looks almost like an anime cartoon face transformed into real life (but it probably made the screenwriter's teeth grind that commercial realities made it advantageous to cast Mischa Barton and Angie Harmon instead of plain-looking actresses...sorry, that will be my last rant). Mischa alone makes it worth buying a DVD player. This is one of those films where the characters are so well cast you can't imagine the roles having been done by anyone else. The script is (with one exception that will become obvious as you're watching the movie) deliciously unpredictable. This film has fantasy elements that no doubt appeal to both sexes; I imagine many women would love to be Pam or Devon, having or having the company of an attractive and gold-hearted Trent, alone and all to themselves. And as a male I certainly admit that Devon makes me think of being ten again and having a crush that actually goes a bit beyond mere dreaming. Or of being 25 and having an adorable, amazingly-mature-for-her-age young girl become fascinated with me and developing a delightful friendship that also has a mild, innocent, unspoken sexual undertone. I feel sure there are few males who watch this movie who don't feel the same way, but in our sexually uptight culture you can't say it non-anonymously without arousing shouts of ["..."] So sad. If you enjoy creative films, this is one to buy and treasure. Be sure to get it on DVD, the difference in price between VHS and DVD will pay for a good part of the DVD player if you don't yet have one.Movie Review: Dark, engrossing, rewarding
Summary: 4 Stars
There seems to be no middle ground of opinion about Lawn Dogs. Critics, as well as the few people who saw it in theaters, either praised it or trashed it. It is an allegory told in a dark fairy tales style. It's story is many-layered, the director is uncompromising, and the audience is given no slack. Misha Barton plays Devon Stockard, a lonely ten-year old child, whose parents have recently moved into a gated community of pretentious, lifeless homes. She is recovering from open heart surgery, and this trauma has instilled in her a fascination with morbid topics.
In this neighborhood, the lawns are relentlessly manicured, as if the residents were keeping all that is natural in comtrol. 21-year old Trent [Sam Rockwell] cuts the Stockard's grass, seemingly two or three times a week. Viewed by the residents as some sort of half-tamed beast, he is warned by a security guard never to stay past five in the afternoon without first "checking" with him.
Devon and Trent form an unlikely friendship, one that most be kept secret from her parents and her neighbors. Trent is well aware of the hostile, paranoid attitudes of his clients. Here begins the sometimes funny, but often dark tale. The two are misfits in a society which itself is dangerous and suspect. We root for Devon and Trent to escape this world, and, in part, they do.
There is a sexual tension between these characters, which will make some viewers uncomfortable, even though it is never acted upon. The film's merely hints at cross-generational attraction, but this alone removes it from the commercial mainstream.
Lawn Dogs can be difficult to accept at times. It is thought provoking enough to give the average viewer a headache. Things happen to the main characters that we don't like. All of the supporting characters are so creepy we wish we'd never met them. Still, those who can tolerate all this will be rewarded by one of the most magical and lyrical endings ever filmed.
Sam Rockwell gives an excellent performance in a truly difficult role. Misha Barton is extraordinary in one of the best acting jobs by a juvenile I have ever seen. Not since Jodie Foster in Taxi Driver have I watched a youngster master material which would be unfathomable to her contemporaries. Barton promises to be around for many years.
Movie Review: Mis-matched friendship
Summary: 4 Stars
Enough people have generally explained the plot, so I will not. Suffice it to say this is Mischa's best movie, and perhaps the best of any actors early performance. Unfortunately, her subsequent major roles are hit-and-miss - "Skipped Parts" being a hit, and "Lost and Delirious" is to be avoided at all costs.
Sam Rockwell was also excellent as "Trent", the friend of Mischa's character ("Devon").
Elsewhere I read the one negative review of this movie by someone who seemed upset over nudity and child pornography. The fact that Mischa is topless for a few seconds (and shot from across the street, at night, and about 2 inches tall on my TV) does not quite fit the category of child pornography, I do not think, unless you are predisposed that way and really, really hard up.
This is a story about a mis-matched friendship, and all the prejudices that attracts, plain and simple. Great dialog, too.
Also, ignore the DVD cover - it has nothing to do with the movie. Why the mother takes up half the cover is a mystery - she is a minor character. The picture of the shirtless man is, I think, from the photo of his high-diving award, and the image of Devon and Trent on the truck actually takes place on a river bank, not on a lawn. I suppose it is Hollywood's influence creeping in - fortunately it does not affect the movie.
Movie Review: It's Not A Perfect Film...
Summary: 4 Stars
...but what is? To begin, my criticisms: There were a few false notes in this film, and I found some scenes implausible. Even after seeing it a half dozen times, it still strikes me that Trent's character is not given much opportunity to reveal what he gains from the relationship - perhaps this is a flaw in the script because by contrast, what Devon has to gain (acceptance, the freedom to be herself, genuine warmth) is much more clearly presented, and more believable. Having said that, it's still a worthy film in many ways, dealing with issues of social falsity, hypocrisy and intolerance. Since it's a fable, there is room for a little truth stretching, and the roles of the one-dimensional parents (particularly Christopher McDonald as Devon's comically revolting father), are still sharp and revealing. Mischa Barton is quite wonderful as a powerful person in a weak child's body, and she conveys strength and pathos easily and with considerable depth. Sam Rockwell, in what is at times an underwritten role, is subtle and profound in the little he has been given to work with. It's not for everyone, and the Man-Child friendship might be a bit awkward for some people, but having once been a 10 year old girl, let me assure you these types of friendships are out there, and they're nothing to be censured.Movie Review: Mischa the Magician
Summary: 4 Stars
This is an obscure independent film, yet it has over sixty (!) reviews here at Amazon. I think that alone says something about it. I've read all the reviews below (since I'd already seen the film), and almost all of them are overwhelmingly positive. And for good reason, too. I like a mindless effects-driven movie as much as the next person, but, like a professional film reviewer, I've seen so many movies that I'm hard to surprise. Lawn Dogs mesmerized me, and less than 1% of films can do that. The production design reminds me of a David Lynch film. Rockwell is an actor's actor, and Barton's performance is remarkable for someone her age. She was cast as the child she physically was at the time, but most of the dialog is as if she's a 35 year-old in a child's body...which is completely unrealistic of course, but the dialog is good nonetheless, and Barton pulls it off magnificently. Lawn Dogs is far from perfect, but it's a must-see for all intelligent film lovers because it does what so few films can do to a jaded viewer: it transports you into a different world. If you don't own a large screen, sit close. Turn on the DVD player, turn out the lights and get sucked in.