Lawn Dogs
Encyclopedia
Lawn Dogs is a 1997
drama film
released by Rank Organisation
, which is their last film, directed by John Duigan
and screenwritten by Naomi Wallace
. It stars Sam Rockwell
and Mischa Barton
. Although filmed in Louisville
and Danville, Kentucky
in the U.S.
, Lawn Dogs is a British
film produced by Duncan Kenworthy
. Lawn Dogs won numerous film awards at film festivals in Europe.
in the woods, and Devon lives in a gated community
.
In the surface plot, the pair strike up an adventurous friendship, which is later misunderstood by the townspeople, who begin to suspect that Trent is a child molester. Ironically, one of Trent's adversaries is, but Trent is not. However, the movie is actually a highly abstract allegory about class conflict
in which Trent and Devon's relationship is actually sexual, a device intended to produce an Alienation effect
in the viewer to force them to more carefully examine the surrounding symbolism.
1997 in film
-Events:* The original Star Wars trilogy's Special Editions are released.* Production begins on Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.* Titanic becomes the first film to gross US$1,000,000,000 at the box office making it the highest grossing film in history until Avatar broke the record in 2010.*...
drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
released by Rank Organisation
Rank Organisation
The Rank Organisation was a British entertainment company formed during 1937 and absorbed in 1996 by The Rank Group Plc. It was the largest and most vertically-integrated film company in Britain, owning production, distribution and exhibition facilities....
, which is their last film, directed by John Duigan
John Duigan
John Duigan, is an Australian film director.Duigan emigrated to Australia in 1961, having been born to an Australian father...
and screenwritten by Naomi Wallace
Naomi Wallace
Naomi Wallace is a playwright, screenwriter and poet from Prospect, Kentucky, United States.-Life:Wallace obtained her Bachelor of Arts from Hampshire College and did graduate studies at the University of Iowa....
. It stars Sam Rockwell
Sam Rockwell
Sam Rockwell is an American actor known for his leading roles in Lawn Dogs, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Choke and Moon, as well as for his supporting roles in The Green Mile, Iron Man 2, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Frost/Nixon, Galaxy Quest, Matchstick Men, The Assassination of...
and Mischa Barton
Mischa Barton
Mischa Anne Marsden Barton is a British-American fashion model, film, television, and stage actress, best known for her role as Marissa Cooper in the American television series The O.C..-Early life:...
. Although filmed in Louisville
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
and Danville, Kentucky
Danville, Kentucky
Danville is a city in and the county seat of Boyle County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 16,218 at the 2010 census.Danville is the principal city of the Danville Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Boyle and Lincoln counties....
in the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Lawn Dogs is a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
film produced by Duncan Kenworthy
Duncan Kenworthy
Duncan H. Kenworthy, OBE is a British film and television producer, and co-founder of the production company DNA Films. He is currently a producer at Toledo Productions....
. Lawn Dogs won numerous film awards at film festivals in Europe.
Plot
The term "lawn dog" refers to someone who mows lawns, and the main character, Trent Burns (Rockwell), is doing just that when he meets a lonely 10-year-old girl, Devon Stockard (Barton), who comes from a wealthy family, in suburban Louisville, Kentucky, that has isolated her. Trent lives in a trailerMobile home
Mobile homes or static caravans are prefabricated homes built in factories, rather than on site, and then taken to the place where they will be occupied...
in the woods, and Devon lives in a gated community
Gated community
In its modern form, a gated community is a form of residential community or housing estate containing strictly-controlled entrances for pedestrians, bicycles, and automobiles, and often characterized by a closed perimeter of walls and fences. Gated communities usually consist of small residential...
.
In the surface plot, the pair strike up an adventurous friendship, which is later misunderstood by the townspeople, who begin to suspect that Trent is a child molester. Ironically, one of Trent's adversaries is, but Trent is not. However, the movie is actually a highly abstract allegory about class conflict
Class conflict
Class conflict is the tension or antagonism which exists in society due to competing socioeconomic interests between people of different classes....
in which Trent and Devon's relationship is actually sexual, a device intended to produce an Alienation effect
Alienation effect
The distancing effect, commonly mistranslated as the alienation effect , is a performing arts concept coined by playwright Bertolt Brecht "which prevents the audience from losing itself passively and completely in the character created by the actor, and which consequently leads the audience to be a...
in the viewer to force them to more carefully examine the surrounding symbolism.
Cast
- Mischa BartonMischa BartonMischa Anne Marsden Barton is a British-American fashion model, film, television, and stage actress, best known for her role as Marissa Cooper in the American television series The O.C..-Early life:...
as Devon Stockard (Women) - Sam RockwellSam RockwellSam Rockwell is an American actor known for his leading roles in Lawn Dogs, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Choke and Moon, as well as for his supporting roles in The Green Mile, Iron Man 2, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Frost/Nixon, Galaxy Quest, Matchstick Men, The Assassination of...
as Trent (Labor) - Christopher McDonaldChristopher McDonaldChristopher McDonald is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Shooter McGavin in Happy Gilmore, Tappy Tibbons in Requiem for a Dream, and Mel Allen in the HBO film 61*.-Personal life:...
as Morton Stockard (Patriarchy) - Kathleen QuinlanKathleen QuinlanKathleen Denise Quinlan is an Academy Award and Golden Globe-nominated American actress, mostly seen on television and in motion pictures.-Personal life:...
as Clare Stockard (Government) - Miles Meehan as Billy (War)
- Bruce McGillBruce McGillBruce Travis McGill is an American actor who has an extensive list of credits in film and television. He is perhaps best known for his role as Jack Dalton on the television series MacGyver and as Daniel Simpson "D-Day" Day in National Lampoon's Animal House.-Early life:McGill was born in San...
as Nash (Popular Opinion) - David Barry Gray as Brett (Conversative Politics)
- Eric MabiusEric MabiusEric Harry Timothy Mabius is an American actor known for his work as Daniel Meade on the ABC television series Ugly Betty. He also worked on the Showtime series The L Word and in the films Resident Evil and Cruel Intentions....
as Sean (Media) - Angie HarmonAngie HarmonAngela Michelle "Angie" Harmon is an American fashion model and television/film actress. She became a well-known model before gaining international fame for her roles in Baywatch Nights and Law & Order....
as Pam (Liberal Politics) - José Orlando Araque as Mailman (Minorities)
- Beth GrantBeth GrantBeth Grant is an American actress. She is known for often playing characters who are conservatives, religious zealots or sticklers for rules....
as Trent's Mother (Religion) - Tom AldredgeTom AldredgeThomas Ernest "Tom" Aldredge was an American television, film and stage actor.-Life and career:Aldredge was born in Dayton, Ohio, the son of Lucienne Juliet and W. J. Aldredge, a colonel in the United States Army Air Corps...
as Trent's Father (American Dream) - Odin the Dog as Tracker (Social Order)
- Tafeki the Dog as Tracker (Social Order)