Lawn Dogs
Tags: fantasy

Plot synopsis:
The film focuses on 10-year-old Devon Stockard (Mischa Barton), a precocious and lonely young girl who has recently moved into a gated community called Camelot Gardens in the suburbs of Louisville, KY with her parents, Morton and Clare (Christopher McDonald and Kathleen Quinlan). Recently having recovered from open heart surgery, Devon is encouraged by her parents to make friends, and she is pushed to sell cookies for a charity event for the summer. While selling cookies, Devon leaves the gated community against the instruction of her mother, and meets Trent Burns (Sam Rockwell), a poor man who lives in a trailer in the woods, and who does landscaping work in Camelot Gardens. An imaginative child, Devon imagines her life to be like the fable of Baba Yaga, a fairytale which the film makes parallels to.
Devon, at first an annoyance to Trent, continues to come to his property and slowly befriends him; despite the innocence of their friendship, he insists that she keep it a secret due to their age difference. While working in Camelot Gardens, Trent begins having altercations with two young men who live there; Brett (David Barry Gray), who is having an affair with Devon's mother; and Sean (Eric Mabius), a man with closeted homosexual tendencies who flirts with Trent. During a family barbecue, Devon explores her father's car in their garage. She finds her father's handgun in the glove compartment of his SUV. Brett discovers her and with the gun and attempts to molest Devon in the garage, but she escapes. She tells her parents about the incident, but then insists that Brett was only trying to tickle her. Clare begins to notice Devon's apparent friendship with Trent when he comes to do lawn work at their house, and becomes alarmed. Meanwhile, Brett and Sean terrorize Trent by pouring sugar in the fuel tank of his lawnmower and start a fight with him after they wrongfully believe he stole CDs from Sean's car.
Devon and Trent's friendship continues to grow, and the two go to visit Trent's mother (Beth Grant) and his father (Tom Aldredge), a Korean War veteran who is dying of a lung disease. After leaving Trent's parents' house, Trent and Devon go for a drive in the country. While stopped in a field, Devon insists that since the two are "best friends", she can show him her surgical scar on her chest. She asks him to touch it to his reluctance, and then demands that he show her his abdominal scar which he sustained in a shooting. After showing each other their scars, the two see Sean's dog running through the field, having escaped. While trying to chase the dog down in the truck, they accidentally run him over. Trent kills the badly injured dog in spite of Devon's pleas for him not to, and she runs home in a panic over the incident.
Clare and Morton, concerned over Devon's frantic behavior, ask her what happened, but she refuses to provide details, only saying that Trent killed Sean's dog and mentions that she and Trent took turns showing each other their scars. Assuming that Trent molested her, Morton drives out to Trent's property with Devon, assisted by Sean and an ex-cop who is a security guard in Camelot Gardens. The three men confront Trent while Devon sits in the car.
Morton and Sean take turns beating Trent, and Morton accuses him of raping Devon. Morton attacks Trent with a piece of wood, beating him to the ground, and hands it to Sean; but before Sean can hit him, Devon exits her father's car with his handgun and shoots Sean in the abdomen. As Sean bleeds on the ground, Devon urges Trent to leave, and they say their goodbyes. Armed with her father's gun, Devon orders her dad to lift her up into a tree that she and Trent had decorated with ribbons, and she imagines a river and a forest rising up behind Trent as he drives away, protecting him as he escapes.

Review: If you like off-beat slices of America with a twisted view, then "Lawn Dogs" is the best movie you'll see in a long time.
As we learn more about his poor, white-trash lawn cutter, we sympathise and begin to realise how easily the reactions of others higher up on the food chain conspire to create chaos for him.I won't give too much about the story away, because it frequently heads off in new, interesting directions, but essentially this is the story of Devon (newcomer child actor Mischa Barton) and the above mentioned Trent (Rockwell) and their relationship.
One is a 10 -year old girl named Devon (Mischa Barton) whose parents want her to be the perfect little daughter.
Trent tries to shoo Devon away at first, but he can't help but be flattered by the young girl's interest.Of course the potential for misunderstanding in this kind of relationship is great and it inevitably happens.
The two build a friendship despite the resentment towards the `white trash' Trent from within the suburb,I didn't know what this film was about before I sat and watched it, reading the plot summary in the tv guide as the title sequence began, I wondered if I would bother, but I'm glad I did.
This part works well as the friendship never seems forced and, although the spectre of sexual tension is there (in Trent occasionally feeling uncomfortable), it is not a strand that is actually part of their relationship.This all works well due (in most part) to two great performances from Barton and Rockwell.
Even more condemning about this depiction is that it never feels like they have been exaggerated or monsterised in any way!The script is well written and certainly makes the actors jobs a lot easier  certainly Barton benefits from great dialogue and character development.
This superb film, directed by John Duigan, the gifted director of THE YEAR MY VOICE BROKE, is about a friendship between a young girl (Mischa Barton of "The OC") and a free-spirited young, adult man (Sam Rockwell).It's self-aware enough to acknowledge the inherent sensitivity of its subject matter, but it doesn't cave into conservative conclusions about how such a relationship ought to be portrayed.At heart, LAWN DOGS is about trust, not the death of innocence or the festering political correctness all around us that sees danger in every unconventional relationship.
Mischa Barton (THE SIXTH SENSE, TV's "The O.C.") is a lonely 10 year old girl who's been shielded from the world by her wealthy parents following a recent health scare (she has a faulty heart), but she dares to strike up a friendship with Rockwell after stumbling onto his ramshackle home in the woods, a friendship which she pursues against Rockwell's wishes, until their 'secret' is forced into the open and grossly misinterpreted by Barton's vengeful family.While the moneyed set lives in antiseptic splendour and conceals its hypocrisy behind security measures of every description, Rockwell's character enjoys an open life in a beautiful forest environment, like the witch Baba Yaga in Barton's favourite fairy tale.
It's a movie about a slightly sick [in the mental and physical sense] young girl [about 10 or 11 years old?] who befriends one of the guys hired to mow the lawns in her gated community.
It's a film that lazily unravels itself, yet succeeds in impacting like a sledgehammer, and does so in such a perfect, unforced and magical way that the experience of viewing it leaves the movie goer completely fulfilled, perhaps like no other film ever has before it.Even more intriguing is the difficulty one has at distinguishing exactly why it is that this film works so flawlessly and just how such a slow moving film can leave a person so thoroughly energized and rejuvenated.Only a few movies of recent times have even come close to carrying off this irony- think 'Fargo' or better still, 'Love Serenade' (interestingly and perhaps not coincidentally also directed by an Australian).Every single element of 'Lawn Dogs' is magical.
From the direction, cinematography, music and fairytale infused storyline which deals with the universally important issues of friendship, self-identity, family, community and class divisions, to the powerhouse performances from the two lead performers and amazing supporting cast.John Diugan has demonstrated with 'Lawn Dogs' that he is indeed a true alchemist of the film world that can mix and dabble with the elements to produce pure, solid gold..
Like Trent in the film, I am alive with the hope that flight from any kind of poverty, financial or spiritual, is possible.On the surface, the story seems to revolve around the relationship between a young man, Trent, and a little girl, Devon, and between the two struggling economic classes that they come from.
It is also natural for the world to discourage an individual from relating to the power within himself, perhaps represented by said young female, to imagine and pursue a better life for himself, when it means he will flee the status quo that makes the rest of the world comfortable.The setting is a highly artificial, unabashedly bourgeois, gated community in Kentucky, `Camelot Gardens' (see, we're already alluding to fairy tales), and the surrounding countryside, wherein Trent lives in a trailer, making, what can loosely be called, a "living" by mowing the lawns of the rich in Camelot Gardens.
The two heroes first meet when Devon happens upon Trent's trailer while wandering into the woods to sell cookies (her capitalist parents' idea), reciting to herself a version of the Russian fairy-tale about the contest between a little girl, like herself, and the witch named `Baba Yaga.'  She continues her relationship with the at-first-reluctant Trent, as he continues to mow her parents' lawn.
Much of the symbolism in the story seems to be lifted directly from classical mythology: From the open nakedness of both heroes in the beginning, a necessary reduction of the self to its bare essentials before it can be remade into something new, Trent holding up traffic to dive naked from a one-lane bridge into the local river, a kind of spectacular baptism into a new beginning, and Devon removing her nightgown to bay from her rooftop, like some essential mythic beast imploring the gods of night; to the adorning, i.e. honoring, of the tree outside the door of Trent's trailer, the Sacred Tree, Ygdrasil, the Tree of Life, so honoring life itself, and the demands that life makes of us; to the maenadic frenzy of the dancing chicken feet, a maddening after-chicken-death/chicken-dinner dithyramb; to Trent's conquest over the infernal hound, a Doberman named `Tracker,' who guards the homes of Camelot Gardens, and perhaps guards as well the path to personal power, the hound who, like Cerberus, turns away all cowards (chickens) from the inner realms; to the magic towel and comb of divine deliverance (more on these two symbols below) at the end; the story is full of age-old symbols that affect us deeply, transforming us or renewing us, without our knowing how.The following passage is taken from Marie-Louise von Franz's `Interpretation of Fairy Tales.'  It will help the reader to understand the meaning of the magic comb and towel.
Now let's count the painfully obvious cliché's, shall we?1) guy from wrong side of the tracks as society's scapegoat 2) unlikely relationship between kindred spirits: this usually comes in the form of crossing age, gender, & class differences 3) Projecting a myth/fable/fairy tale/work of literature/history lesson as a conscious allusion to the themes & realities of the film.
I just couldn't take it anymore.Before elaborating on that, though, I found it disturbing that a ten year old girl was in the center of what was a very adult film.Second, I thought the character of Devon was pretty, well, awful.
I know you may think well a movie about a friendship between an upper class little girl and a white trash man isn't much for entertainment but believe me it's more than that!
A very modern tale of innocence and its inherent dangers; watch this film and let a young girl named Devon teach you about life.
It merges a dramatic story with politics or rather the society of America.Either way, this film has great acting, is very quirky, and keeps you satisfied throughout.I hope others will give this film some time.Mischa Barton (The O.C.) and Sam Rockwell (Moon) have both gone on to make names of themselves, but this is surely a film from the past that is a gem..
Barton plays ten-year-old Devon, an odd little girl who befriends the white trash gardener of her housing estate, Camelot Gardens, Trent (Sam Rockwell).
I first saw this movie in 1998, and it had such a powerful impact that when I saw The 6th Sense a year later, I immediately recognized the young Lawn Dogs star Mischa Barton (who played the murdered little girl opposite Haley Joel Osment in that suspense film), who shines with an amazingly convincing performance.
If you've seen The Green Mile, it will probably take you a while to relinquish the fear that Sam Rockwell's character Trent is going to brutally strangle his young friend, but that probably serves to accent the subtle menace that builds up to this film's surreal (but beautifully fitting) closing scene..
With all the naturalness of any eleven-year-old next-door girl, Mischa Barton was carrying out an exercise in interpretation which frankly leaves most of the Hollywood Oscar goddesses pallid, insipid and tastelessAbout 15 minutes into the film I realised that this was no US job: it was too subtle, the story was too carefully embroidered with exquisite craftsmanship.
I just saw Lawn Dogs and wasn't that impressed as others who have written in.The two leads in the movie are a twenty-something guy and an eleven year old girl.
I'm personally not a fan of movies with adult themes that star juveniles.I also didn't think it was a good idea to sanctify the idea of the two main characters hanging out with each other away from the girl's home and family.
It was kind of like- what does this guy think is going to happen if he spends a lot of time with this kid?The more interesting elements of the film such as the unsettling neighborhood culture, class inequity, etc.
A talented director of youngsters, Duigan gets an excellent performance out of Mischa Barton in the lead role, while Sam Rockwell holds his own as the lawnmower man.
It is a thought-provoking film as it challenges general preconceptions out there about the inability for an older man to be friends with a younger woman with nothing else going on between them, but it is the hypocrisy of the town that they live in that is most striking here with Rockwell suspected by many of petty thievery simply because he is poor and Barton's father caring nothing about a local teenager fondling her chest because he is the son of a powerful figure in town.
Lawn Dogs tells the story of an intelligent but aloof little girl (Mischa Barton) who finds it hard to make friends...and with her habits of baking gingerbread men with dead flies for buttons, and peeing on the windshield of anyone who upsets her, it's not surprising.Eventually, she does find a sort-of kindred spirit...
By the way females seem to like this movie better than males according to the demographic breakdown but maybe the guys thought this was going to be like Reservoir Dogs, a good film, but not this one..
this is an excellent movie with a brilliant cast sam rockwell plays the brilliant outcast who befriends a 10 year old girl they strike up a unique friendship that if anybody found out it would have devestating consequences it's a weepey film but enjoyable to watch.
Kudos to Devon (Mischa Barton) & Trent (Sam Rockwell) for good acting.
This beautifully photographed movie has a very strong script, a perfect balance between irony and drama, and it sometimes reminded me of 'Happiness' and 'American Beauty', two great movies that got much more attention than 'Lawn Dogs', although they were made later than this film!
Earlier posts have compared Mischa Barton's role and performance to that of Natalie Portman in "The Professional" or Reese Witherspoon in "Man in the Moon."  Despite some similarities, this film goes far beyond the others in exploring (and contrasting) the fairy-tale aspects of Trent and Devon's friendship and the lives led by those in Devon's home and neighborhood.
The main character, Trent, a lawn mower for a wealthy gated community, becomes friends with a 10-year-old girl, Devon, the daughter of social-climbing suburbanites.
Even though the end was not what the average viewer would want, it was actually the best solution, and as in Leon, the heroes might be apart in the end, but their spirits and their love seem like being closer than ever.In one of the smartest and most important independent movies of the decade, Mischa Barton showed moments of mature acting and gave a performance similar to the one of Natalie Portman in Leon, or even of Tatoom O' Neal in Paper Moon.
Devon(Mischa Barton)keeps your soul young & heart filled with hope.She gives only wanting friendship in return & eventually sacrifices IT for her 'best friend's' freedom.Trent(Sam Rockwell)is reluctant,but vicariously needy as Devon fearlessly drags him into a fantasy world filled with stark-raving reality!This story has been told many times before('rich meets born on the wrong side of the tracks'),but never like this.Chemistry between two characters(& actors)this believable & off-beat only come around once in a great while.See this FILM!.Sometimes freedom is the only gift left to give..
"Lawn Dogs" presumes that there are people who will make an effort to think about what they see and who are capable of seeing both the realities and the mysteries of existence that film can only hint at.Of special note is eleven year old actress Misha Barton, who here gives the finest performance by a child actress in a very long time, perhaps since Jodie Foster in "Taxi Driver"..
John Duigan is a great cinematographic author who has made many admirably charming films such as Wide Saragasso Sea,The year my voice broke etc.Most of his films are about some important issues related to human behavior in our fast changing society and its implications on mankind.Lawn Dogs is a nice tale of inhuman indifference based on class,status which affect the lives of two lonely people:a young drifter and a young girl.These two roles are nicely played by Sam Rockwell and Mischa Barton.Apart from the two main protagonists, remaining characters of this film are absolutely unusual as they are much too protective of their children.It is for this reason that this theme of this film is absolutely novel and not so much is heard about another film handling a theme of child molestation.As the film takes places in a small town full chance is given to viewers to make an assessment of its bored citizens who have some dark secrets hiding with them.There has been no film before Lawn Dogs which has so deftly handled a difficult subject of child molestation..
"Lawn Dogs" shows that that deft artistry of Duigan's which revolutionised Australian film certainly hadn't been lost by 1997 - it just wasn't getting much of a cinematic airing.A lot of talent went into this film - Mischa Barton, who sadly couldn't follow up one of the best child acting performances ever with anything decent ("Tart", anyone?); Sam Rockwell, who everyone knows now for "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind" and "Matchstick Men"; DOP Elliot Davis, who gives the film an incredibly magical, almost dreamlike feel.
If you want to be touched by one of the most artistically impressive and beautiful films of the 90s, get "Lawn Dogs" out instantly and let Duigan, Barton and Rockwell blow your mind.
Sam Rockwell plays Trent, a white-trash guy who lives in a trailer and mows the lawns of the rich people nearby.
He faces daily prejudice from these people and only the young girl sees him for who he is, rather than what he is.A touching, well made film with outstanding performances from Rockwell and Barton (who plays the 12-year old).
Lawn Dogs is not a political film per se, but there's an honesty here (perhaps because it's made by an Australian director) that challenges the way that the USA usually prefers to think of itself.Sam Rockwell turns in an outstanding performance as a "white trash" outsider in a closeted community lacking not just money, but also any kind of respect.
Unfortunately, her subsequent major roles are hit-and-miss - "Skipped Parts" being a hit, and "Lost and Delirious" is to be avoided at all costs.Sam Rockwell was also excellent as "Trent", the friend of Mischa's character ("Devon").Elsewhere I read the one negative review of this movie by someone who seemed upset over nudity and child pornography.
Devon, a highly imaginative kid who makes up fairy stories, becomes friendly with one of the dogs, Trent (Sam Rockwell), who is in his early 20s.
There is actually so much discrimination in this movie as to be rather frightening in its true-to-life nature.Sam Rockwell plays Trent in his finest performance on-screen to date.
Mischa Barton in a gated community, rich girl + poor boy, and, just like at the end of this movie, at the end of THE O.C.
But it's rather like "Blue Velvet" in that there are a horde of repugnant beetles and ants under all that Kentucky bluegrass that Sam Rockwell, the young and sweaty lawn man mows.The story is told principally from the point of view of ten-year-old Mischa Barton.
Mischa Barton and Sam Rockwell are both equally amazing in this film with great chemistry.
It's obvious that little Devon(Mischa Barton) has an infatuation with the much older Trent(Sam Rockwell).