Lawn Dogs
Reviewed by Gordon Kearns
This review contains key plot elements (Spoilers)
Lawn Dogs is not a movie for one-time viewing. Even so, there are no hidden meanings. All you need to know is on the screen front of you; all you need to understand can be found in ten year old Devon's words. Before the credits, the movie opens with Devon relating her own take on the old Russian fairy tale Baba Yaga, which changes subtly in her subsequent re-tellings (there is no single correct version of Baba Yaga; like most fairy tales, word of mouth passing of the fable has brought many versions into today's literature, so Devon's versions are as valid as any). Throughout the film there are symbols reflecting features common to many traditional versions of the tale, which help set the mood; however, it isn't necessary to recognize them in order to understand the story. One needs only to listen to the words and watch the action. Still, because of the subtlety of the dialog and script turns, a second or even third viewing of the film is strongly advised.
The story itself is simple and straight forward. Devon, played by Mischa Barton, is the ten year old daughter of an affluent couple who recently moved into Camelot Gardens, a modern upscale suburban compound. Early on in the story she is attracted to Trent (played by Sam Rockwell), one of the young men (lawn dogs) who earn their living cutting lawns in the subdivision. Over his preliminary resistance she manages to insinuate herself more and more into his life, almost to the point of stalking him. Their mutual attachment is sealed during her cleverly arranged sleep over in his rustic trailer home in the woods. Story complications lead to a near tragic final sequence in the small clearing where Trent's trailer is located, as her father, along with the village security guard, and a local young man seek to punish him for imagined wrong-doings. Devon, with her father's 9 mm automatic in hand, takes dramatic control of the situation, allowing her friend Trent to escape.
The tale unfolds in Devon's relating of present events to her view of the saga of Baba Yaga. At first, she sees herself as the little girl in the story ("Once upon a time there lived a little girl ...") who is sent by her parents to the house of the terrible witch Baba Yaga. In traditional renditions the little girl befriends a tree, a gate, a dog (and in some cases a mouse and/or a cat and/or a doll) as she travels to Baba Yaga's lair. In the movie, the dog is referred to often, but the tree is the main symbolic sub-character, as she and Trent elaborately decorate it with colorful ribbons. As the story progresses it becomes apparent that she no longer views herself as the lost little girl, but as the various objects that aided in the girl's escape. She brings Trent food. She becomes the dog howling from the rooftop. She pee's on her father's (Baba Yaga's) windshield. She hides in the empty doghouse. When Trent is at his lowest point, she is at his side, demonstrating her friendship: the poignant "scar scene." And in the end, she becomes the instrument of his escape - his escape from the immediate threats, as well as from the prison of his life (explaining the often misunderstood sequence with his mother and father, which shows his sense of being a prisoner of their needs). Indeed, at the end of the movie she climbs the tree and tells the final story of Baba Yaga, which this time opens, "Once upon a time, there was a ... boy" and ends "And the boy drove on; never to return. Safe at last." The camera pulls back, and Devon gradually fades in the bright sunlight, seeming to become part of the tree herself.
There are some beautiful moments in this story. The rooftop howling scene, dancing on the roof of the truck, the dramatic fireside telling of the story of Baba Yaga, the sleep-over scene as she plays with the tinkling glass wind-chimes, and the tree scene described above. But perhaps the most tender - as well as telling - moment is near the end when Trent asks her, "Whatever happened in that story?" She answers, "The girl ran and she ran until she got home." Then Trent: "Home. Just where is that, Devon?" She cups her hands around his face. "Home," she says, "is in my hands." Yes, it was. His way "home" was given him by Devon's sacrifice.
Sam Rockwell is a proven actor who assayed the role of the rough-edged Trent in a deeply affecting portrayal. Mischa Barton, at ten, established herself as one of the foremost actors of our day. She already had a respectable acting portfolio before Lawn Dogs came along.
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Comments: GKEARNS@prodigy.net