- Film Review
- Reviewed By Dave Aldridge
-
2 out of 5
If you've never seen Sam Peckinpah's 1971 controversial original, or if you've seen it but don't rate it, then this slick remake is adequate enough. Here, the action is relocated from rural England to redneck America as newlyweds David (James Marsden) and Amy (Kate Bosworth) move to her Mississippi home town. He's a screenwriter. She's a moderately successful TV actress whose return puts her back on the radar of an ex-boyfriend (True Blood's Alexander Skarsgard) and his bozo buddies. Ambiguous rape precedes unambiguous violence, which may offend, but mostly because this is one of those remakes that feels like the product of lazy thinking. The acting is OK and, if the scenes of rape and violence are no longer as shocking as they were 40 years ago, that may be more a reflection of how audiences have become inured to such things than of any shortcomings in the way it's directed by Rod Lurie (The Contender).
Plot Summary
A couple return to the wife's Deep South home town, where tensions are raised in their marriage by the presence of her resentful ex-boyfriend. The conflict that develops between the outsiders and the locals turns violent, forcing the new arrivals to fight for their lives. Thriller remake, starring James Marsden, Kate Bosworth, James Woods and Alexander Skarsgard.
Cast and crew
Cast
- David Sumner
- James Marsden
- Amy Sumner
- Kate Bosworth
- Charlie
- Alexander Skarsgård
- Tom Heddon
- James Woods
- Jeremy Niles
- Dominic Purcell
- John Burke
- Laz Alonso
- Janice Heddon
- Willa Holland
- Daniel Niles
- Walton Goggins
- Norman
- Rhys Coiro
- Chris
- Billy Lush
Crew
- Director
- Rod Lurie
- Share this episode
-