There are a lot of snakes in this movie. But if you spend much time in the rural Deep South, you know that encounters with snakes are common events. And snakes do play a role in some religions in the South. It’s also possible that the writer/director Deborah Kampmeier was using snakes as symbols of the Garden of Eden, loss of innocence, and other things.
One thing I noticed was that the actors’ southern accents come and go, but it didn’t spoil the movie for me. And the scene where Daddy gets blown off his tractor by lightning is more comical than dramatic. Otherwise, the film is well done.
Dakota Fanning’s performance deserved an Oscar: she is incredible. When this movie was released to theaters, there was a lot of controversy and media attention about the appropriateness of a movie focusing on the rape of a 9-year-old girl, and that probably cost Fanning her Oscar. But I feel the opposite — sexual assault has to be brought into the light, not hidden. Sexual predators thrive in darkness and secrecy. The rape scene is handled well and is not graphic. Like the girl she portrayed, Fanning was incredibly brave to take on this role.
The rest of the cast is great too, especially David Morse as Daddy. Morse is a great character actor.
I can understand why director Deborah Kampmeier chose 1950s Alabama as a setting; it was perhaps more of an age of innocence. But this movie could have also taken place in 2009. People forget that extreme poverty is still common in the South and still destroys a lot of people’s lives. And unreported sexual assaults are still happening all over the United States.
Hounddog is a treasure that was generally ignored by the Academy and most people. I hope the DVD release does well. And Elvis would be proud.
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