[size=3]With better direction, "Hounddog" could have been a major film. It had many core elements that were so right, including a stellar cast led by [b]Dakota Fanning[/b], who was about 12 years old when the film was made. Supporting actors include [b]Piper Laurie[/b],… More
[size=3]With better direction, "Hounddog" could have been a major film. It had many core elements that were so right, including a stellar cast led by [b]Dakota Fanning[/b], who was about 12 years old when the film was made. Supporting actors include [b]Piper Laurie[/b], [b]David Morse[/b], and [b]Robin Wright Penn[/b].[/size]
[img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/be/Hounddog_poster.jpg[/img]
[size=3]A girl in a remote corner of the deep South (the environs resemble a jungle) struggles in the 1950s to survive in a dirt-poor, highly dysfunctional family. Her whole life is a trial. But when she is raped, she suffers her worst ordeal and drifts into what is almost a coma. [/size]
[size=3]The title comes from the Elvis Presley song, which was beloved by teenagers at the time and derided by many adults as "devil music." (This debate figures into the story.) The girl sings the song frequently in part to keep her soul alive. Music indeed becomes her salvation, both Elvis Presley's pop and the authentic Blues upon which it was based. But the title can also be seen as a reference to the girl herself, who is so filthy and mangy as to resemble a hounddog.[/size]
[img]http://content8.flixster.com/photo/10/99/71/10997126_ori.jpg[/img]
[size=3]When the film first surfaced in late 2006 and was accepted at the Sundance Film Festival, a brouhaha erupted over its subject matter. Some suggested it was a form of child pornography, which strikes me as completely ridiculous. The rape scene is brief and discreet and could not be perceived by anyone with a normally functioning brain as titillating or lurid.[/size]
[size=3]Rape of children is a fact. Should we stick our heads in the sand to ignore it, or confront it openly as the tragedy it is? I'm not a head-in-the-sand type, whether the issue is global warming, failed foreign policies, or child abuse. I want a national cinema that confronts reality head on. [/size]
[size=3]I applaud Ms. Fanning for choosing to participate in a film that dares to look at girls' issues fearlessly, and I applaud her parents for supporting her. I also resoundingly commend the screenwriter and director, [b]Deborah Kampmeier[/b], for having the guts to make a film that looks unflinchingly at a reality millions of girls (and many boys) face.[/size]
[size=3]There is of course the fear that parents might mistakenly believe "Hounddog" is a children's film because Ms. Fanning is the star. But that is a risk that has to be taken. We certainly cannot shut down cinema because we're afraid a child might see the wrong film. It is the responsibility of the distributor to make it completely obvious in the marketing material that this is an adults-only film, and it's up to parents to take it from there.[/size]
[size=3]When the film finally was screened at Sundance, it was met with an avalanche of derision from critics, which also strikes me as ridiculous. It's clearly not a masterpiece, and some aspects of the direction are terrible. But the entire film a piece of junk? I don't understand that view. I can't help but wonder if critics turned away from the film because of its subject matter. They can't call for censorship, but they can destroy a film by overstating its flaws. No one, it seems, wants to see a film that examines rape of children. I still maintain that this was why critics savaged "Fierce People" last year. (That film was on my Top 10 List of 2007.) But the version of "Hounddog" that was screened at Sundance was rough, and Kampmeier has done some cutting since then. Perhaps the version in theaters now is much improved.[/size]
[size=3]After the tidal wave of negative press at Sundance, "Hounddog" disappeared, never finding a distributor. That angered me to no end. Then suddenly, more than a year later, I see it advertised in the New York Times. I don't know who finally stepped up to the plate to arrange screenings, but we owe that person many thanks.[/size]
[size=3]Now for a discussion of the film's flaws. Kampmeier is very heavy on style and tends to overdo things. Her locations are striking -- at times too striking. There is moss dripping from every tree and florid jungle-like growth everywhere. The interiors are also thick with symbolism. When the girl visits a bluesman who lives nearby, his place has snakeskins hanging from the walls. [/size]
[size=3]When Kampmeier directs the actors, she often overdoes something as well. One scene toward the end of the film involves the girl's father wandering around the town in a stupor. To emphasize his disorientation, Kampmeier has the actor do the scene completely naked, which struck me as completely unnecessary and over the top. Another example: when the girl first hears a Blues performance, the musicians are so overly animated that they seem to be doing a parody of the Blues. [/size]
[size=3]Kampmeier also has an approach to sound that is irritating. There is too much music and too many sound effects. Presumably to add a mystical tone, she occasionally uses sound effects such as a few strikes of a percussion instrument. Every time I heard these effects, I almost burst out laughing. For reasons such as this, I had to bring down the film's ranking to 6. It otherwise would have been at least a 7, maybe even an 8. (Incidentally, I haven't given out a 9 or 10 rating yet this year. I save those for near-masterpieces and full-on masterpieces. I actually haven't given a 10 rating since 2006, for Darren Aronofsky's "The Fountain." The last 9 I gave out was for Todd Haynes's "I'm Not There" in 2007.)[/size]
[size=3]One critic described "Hounddog" as over-ripe, and that is apt. I think Kampmeier might do well to study a film like "The Hours" by Stephen Daldry to learn how to use avant-garde techniques to enrich a film without drowning it. The famous scene in "The Hours" where Julianne Moore's character is contemplating suicide in a hotel room is an example. Daldry has a river explode from under the woman's bed, consuming the character. [/size]
[size=3]Obviously this was symbolism. Rivers don't appear in hotels. Daldry was taking a big risk using a non-realistic technique like this, and it worked beautifully. He knew how to use such a device and keep it under control. He had Moore lie on the bed placidly, for example, to keep the scene from going overboard. Kampmeier probably would have had Moore flailing about screaming. The art of understatement is something Kampmeier urgently needs to learn. If she does, I think she could turn into one of America's finest directors, on a par with masters such as Karen Moncrieff ("The Dead Girl") and Laurie Collyer ("Sherrybaby").[/size]
[size=3]Kampmeier's excesses are not constant, however. Every now and again they become a problem. There are many scenes that are done superbly, and "Hounddog" is worth seeing for any fan of serious film.[/size]
