Hounddog

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Hounddog

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Hounddog

Dakota Fanning, Isabelle Fuhrman, Cody Hanford, Piper Laurie, David Morse

A provocative Southern tale set in rural Alabama in the late 1950s, HOUNDDOG is the story of a spirited young girl LEWELLEN (Dakota Fanning) and her struggle to rise above the repression that surround...( read more  read more... )s her.

Id: 10957739

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Hounddog Recent Reviews
  • JDFortuneFan
    November 7, 2009
    JDFortuneFan
    Hounddog captures a certain spirit and essence of the south and is a well acted film. The acting alone couldn't save the film from itself. The story being told is horrific, but it just doesn't come together in a cohesive way.
  • dreamfaeries
    October 17, 2009
    dreamfaeries
    Very slow, but it was worth a watch. Very odd storyline but brought to life as best as could be. The last 25 minutes or so is the best part of the film.
  • PvtCaboose91
    July 4, 2009
    PvtCaboose91
    "You ain't nothin' but a hound dog, cryin' all the time. You ain't never caught a rabbit, and you ain't no friend of mine."


    Deborah Kampmeier's much-hyped Hounddog premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival to a disastrous reception. Following its derailment

    ...( read more) at the festival, the film was subsequently recut and revised before being given a brief, unsuccessful theatrical release almost two years afterwards. But make no mistake...even the amended version of this humid drama is thoroughly awful. Although writer-director Kampmeier tried to get this project off the ground for a decade, Hounddog - unofficially known as The Dakota Fanning Rape Movie - feels tailor-made to be a vehicle for young Dakota Fanning who clearly desires to transition from kid roles to more dramatic material via this controversial drama. Unfortunately, this is just a heavy-handed, overwrought feature that isn't nearly as powerful or as provocative as it clearly strives to be. Hollow, unbelievably clichéd, unappealing, and unable to convey a worthwhile message, Hounddog is a handsomely-produced but unintentionally risible film.


    Taking place in Alabama (although it was filmed in North Carolina) during the late 1950s, the story follows a precious young free spirit named Lewellen (Fanning). A pre-teen on the verge of womanhood, Lewellen is unaware of her burgeoning sexuality as she attracts the attention of lecherous boys while attempting to sort out her domestic troubles. The troubled 12-year-old girl only finds solace from her abusive life through blues music - namely Elvis Presley, whose songs she keenly sings and dances along to.


    If there's one thing Hounddog does correctly, it's the recreation of the American South during the 1950s. The striking visuals are evocative of rural living, and the soundtrack (alive with the sounds of locusts and grasshoppers, in addition to a cocktail of classic music) are able to pull a viewer in. Unfortunately, though, Kampmeier has no idea what to do with an audience once they've become immersed in her world. The key flaw is that the story doesn't have anything valuable to say. Moreover, Lewellen never acts like a prepubescent girl - she's a writer's construct as opposed to a living, breathing human being.


    Essentially a coming-of-age tale, Hounddog is an extremely episodic drama that bounces all over Lewellen's world in increasingly irritating and unintentionally funny ways. The loss of innocence is supposedly the main vein of thematic exploration for this feature, but Kampmeier simply isn't focused or talented enough to effectively pull it off as she struggles to cover the large canvas of Lewellen's family woes. Clichés plague the screenplay as well. With plenty of painfully "symbolic" snakes, a jovial African American who can offer homespun wisdom at the drop of a hat, and predatory boys who rape young girls, it's doubtful there's a Southern cliché that the writer-director misses!


    The first two thirds of Hounddog are incredibly unfocused and grow increasingly boring. Kampmeier continues to throw in pointless distractions rather than focusing on developing a semblance of a narrative. Such distractions include the arrival of a snobby rich girl, as well as the tragedy that befalls Lewellen's father when (in an unintentionally comic moment) lightning strikes his tractor and he's turned into a childlike invalid. Eventually those who know what's coming will find themselves in the decidedly peculiar position of impatiently awaiting the rape of Lewellen, hoping the scene will get things moving. The rape scene arrives after roughly an hour, and is shown with sufficient restraint to deflect a lot of the criticism it received. There's nothing gratuitous or exploitative about this particular scene; it's presented as tastefully as possible while still conveying the horror of the act. (Kampmeier does cross the line, however, with a silly Jesus reference: Lewellen's palm is cut by a nail).


    After the rape scene, Kampmeier's movie stumbles from one unlikely story development to the next, and is packed with further distractions (such as the return of a character who wants custody of Lewellen). There's no compelling portrait of Lewellen as she struggles to deal with the trauma. The film never deeply explores the character...she's ashamed and her spirit is broken - that's about all we get. An unnecessary plethora of subplots are added instead - there's some mystical mumbo-jumbo involving snakes, and an all-knowing Negro who soothes Lewellen's spirit with his words of healing and blues music. How does that solve the problem? At the end of the day, Hounddog is just utterly uninvolving and asinine.


    More than anything else, Hounddog is a film that allows Dakota Fanning the rare opportunity to convey a tremendous range of emotions in an Oscar-baiting performance. Fanning is the best thing about this otherwise cold fish of a motion picture.
    The only other actor worth mentioning is David Morse as Lewellen's father. Morse, already a cringingly limited actor, just does his best Forrest Gump impression after his character is struck by lightning. He ludicrously overplays his character's mental reduction, to the point that one will likely be reminded of Robert Downey Jr.'s speech in Tropic Thunder regarding the perils facing an actor who goes "full retard."


    Hounddog is merely a string of vignettes - there's no coherent or compelling story, and it loses power as a result. The controversial rape scene is the only moment in Hounddog that's genuinely effective because it is the only time that writer-director Deborah Kampmeier had a solid idea of what she wanted to say. In spite of a few scenes of utter greatness, this motion picture as a whole is an unmitigated mess. If there was genuine heart and passion behind this film, Hounddog could've become the genuinely moving and powerful drama that it wanted to be rather than the maudlin, silly mess it ended up becoming.
  • kiriyamakazou
    April 19, 2009
    kiriyamakazou
    Dakota Fanning gives her best performance to date. She perfectly captures both her youthful innocence, and her natural maturity that puts her above most child actors. Though the film may be "controversial" and "hard hitting" it is also painfully simplistic and clichéd. Fanning p...( read more)lays a very obvious Southern girl in a far too familiar cinematic Southern world. She's the poor little white girl with a hard drinking father that is sometimes violent and a strict religious grandmother. Fanning has her escape, in the form of Elvis' music, but she is really enlightened by the black community. The weather and snakes are all used as your everyday Southern metaphors and are lacking in visual impact. We've seen all these characters before, especially Morse's at first cruel but caring father and then simple minded and childlike. This plot strand could have been used to show the role reversal between child and parent, but instead Fanning is off doing her own thing. It's beautifully shot though, capturing all the harsh weather conditions and bright yet gothic scenery.
  • rebvodka042099
    March 4, 2009
    rebvodka042099
    I used to be a great fan of Dakota Fanning. Nowadays -even if her performance is wonderful, like it happens in this film- her presence just annoys me. In many ways, this film feels incomplete -
    it could have been an inspiring film, a powerful film, a film that had many things to...( read more) teach and much more to offer - but it generally doesn't. The characters may be appealing to the viewer, but the failure in presenting everything that motivates them really leaves you with the bitter taste of sloppiness in the mouth. The soundtrack is scarce -major mistake for a film that is created based on the Elvis era, the plot is all over the place, and there is a certain weakness in every sector that forbids this movie from being great. Yet another film I had high expectations out of, yet another film that disappointed me.
  • McBay
    January 2, 2010
    McBay
    after the "scene" the film just feels extremely uncomfortable but at the same time it's great to know that a young actress like Dakota Fanning can still play the role perfectly considering the very mature subject matter.
  • SC007
    December 16, 2009
    SC007
    Dakota Fanning's performance is the only reason to watch this film. The film reminded me a little of Stand By Me and My Girl, but those were much better films. I thought some of the supporting cast members, were miscast in this film.
  • princessqtpl
    December 14, 2009
    princessqtpl
    Wow! this was a risky move for Dakota, she's like what 12 or 13 here?
    Anyways, she proves again what a versatile actress she is.
  • trisarahtops22
    December 5, 2009
    trisarahtops22
    I don't really see what the controversy is about. Yes, there is a rape scene, but it's nothing to get up in arms about. The story itself is interesting and worth watching at least once.
  • rayld02
    December 4, 2009
    rayld02
    "You ain't nothin' but a hound dog; cryin' all the time." Those are first lyrics of probably one of the well-known tracks in the history of music. Although Elvis Presley did not write this song (or any of his), it is him that made it further popular. "Hounddog" is film with whic...( read more)h gives essence to this pop song in viscerally laborious effort, and a scene for the life seen by a child; occupied with frustrations, grief, pain, happiness, and all that she has to offer to herself alone.

    Meet the girl named Lewelen (Dakota Fanning), about ten or eleven, a daydreamer, and a rich-minded little child. Despite her physical framework, she thinks like a grown-up. But what hurts most for her is that no matter how she tries to convince herself that she's not a child anymore, she still is. It conforms to the fact that it is so hard to be molded into a better self.

    Lewelen is a die-hard fan of Elvis Presley. It is Elvis wherever she goes. It has always been Elvis who she sings whenever she's happy, sad, or in a state of confusion. Every Elvis track she knows by heart, and sings each with youthful refinement. Her favorite is the song "Hound Dog" which she has well-practiced and performed in front of her acquaintances. She even had a dream of singing a song for Elvis Presley when she sees him personally.

    All that Lewelen dreams of is her one chance to meet the man behind the voice who she listens to all the time. The idolatry for Elvis she has buried into her skin. She is just a child who can't get enough of what she loves most. Aside Elvis, she loves her family especially her father (David Morse). She used to have a dream of having a complete family since she does not have a mother anymore. Her Grammie (Piper Laurie) stands as her mother as she grows up. Marge, a woman claiming to be Lewelen's father's love makes an attempt to get the child from Grammie and her father.

    Lewelen has a little boyfriend named Buddy. They go everywhere they want to go; do whatever they want to do; and dream of all things possible and not. They would go by the river and bathe there half naked. Lewelen would sing Elvis for Buddy, and the boy would listen like he was watching the real thing. Lewelen would tell him how much she idolizes Elvis and Buddy would listen earnestly. She would kiss him good bye, and same things go the next day. Observed carefully, we can call it puppy love. But Buddy is the only person who Lewelen puts her full trust on. Since her father was hit by a lightning while in the farm, and has gone into a sort of amnesia, the only outlet convenient is her friend Buddy. They also made a friend named Wendy, and commonly known as "Grasshopper". She is the daughter of a well wealthy family in their town.

    Only few days are left before Elvis Presley's concert in their town. But Lewelen has not had a ticket yet to attend the event. It brings her frustration every time she thinks that she cannot do anything about it. Buddy promises with full conviction to help her out about the matter. But he has done one mistake that is not to be forgiven. He puts Lewelen into a great danger when he asks her to sing and dance "Hound Dog" for his older friend. Next thing we know is that Buddy's friend rapes Lewelen with a devilish face and a laugh that banishes the purity in the little child's worth.

    The film in general is a good-looking one. It has well lighted production set and good photography, in fairness, and so forth. Some scoring is left for the actress Dakota Fanning to sing, like the last song while she was walking away from the camera. She possesses a naturally fine singing voice, making me remember Henry Selick's 2008 animated film "Coraline" which she plays the voice of the main character. Going back into the topic, Dakota Fanning is a gifted young actress. How good she is a question of her presence. You could not help but to watch her when she is onscreen. She looks like a child to many, but acting-wise, the maturity of her brain glows luminously. It seems like she understands situations in detailed form the way she acts. When I see Dakota Fanning, I could not help but to compare her with the young Jodi Foster. First, they resemble each other; both are really convincing actresses in their younger age, in their own fields.

    After the tragic misfortunes of Lewelen, she still manages to live a normal life. In the latter parts of the film, we see Lewelen, encouraged by her black musician friend, singing "Hound Dog" in different hymns. She has stepped down into her Elvis idolatry, and given herself freedom to express whatever she feels through music. The film suggests that music is something that should be heartfelt. Elvis, for example can sing a song in merely different style, and different amount of emotions compared with Tony Bennett. Many would say that Elvis is the "King of Rock and Roll", but he has not written any of his known songs; unlike his predecessors like Bill Hailey and Chuck Berry.

    "Hounddog" has an established set of cast. For me, the best acting goes to both Dakota Fanning and Piper Laurie. With her mother role in Brian De Palma's 1976 "Carrie", Piper Laurie strikes me as an eager audience, with her voice that is reliable enough to listen to every word she says, with character's philosophy that is unjustifiable, but backed up with acting that convincing and vigorous.

    From the good actors in this film, let's go to the not so good plot. First three quarters of the film does just fine. But from after the Lewelen's tragedy scene up till the end, the film is an abrupt shift in rising action. It seems like the energy from the starting point slowly decreases with the passage of time. Scenes are all absurd, and it seems like those were just written to put an ending to the plot. The idea is not completely substantial and dull. Dakota Fanning's acting is subjectively submerged in a superficial theme of slow death. The philosophy I can relate to, but the way they are presented is inert; needless to say the effort to heighten the imagery into the darker side of the coin. But there is nothing that special in it.

    "Hounddog" reminds us of child-like dreams; of facts about life, and about people all around us. People change no matter how we stop those changes. It is a constant truth. And we are the only ones to choose which change we want. It shows that character and optimism is a way to face challenges from day to day. It is not too early to learn the things that we ought be knowing, for wisdom is available anytime, depending upon one's readiness and understanding of situations. The film reveals how the truth sometimes truly hurts, even though how much you love and admire things around you, you can never have them all, there would always some that would stay, and some would leave, especially in the hardest of circumstances.
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