Hounddog

Reviled at its Sundance Film Festival debut, shunned by major distributors, and dogged by negative buzz surrounding its controversial child-rape scene, Hounddog only received a token theatrical release. A tawdry exercise in Southern Gothic, the film is set in Alabama, circa 1956, where motherless 12-year-old Lewellen (Dakota Fanning) comes of age with no help from her abusive father (David Morse), Bible-thumping grandma (Piper Laurie), or dad's latest girlfriend (Robin Wright Penn), who also happens to be the girl's dead mother's sister. Much of the story revolves around Lewellen's worship of Elvis Presley, and her hopes of seeing her idol in concert—a desire that eventually brings her into contact with an older boy who forces himself on her. For all its notoriety, the rape scene is more offensive on a conceptual level than graphic, although writer-director Deborah Kampmeier leaves no doubt as to what is happening. Kampmeier's introduction of a “magic Negro” (a term coined by Spike Lee, referring to beneficent African-American characters shoehorned into stories solely to help white people)—who explains to Lewellen that her favorite Elvis song, “Hound Dog,” was introduced by blues singer Big Mama Thornton—is the final coffin nail in this floundering effort that features a solid performance by Fanning, but is still a cinematic barker. Not recommended. [Note: DVD extras include the 12-minute “making-of” featurette “Light Out of Darkness,” a photo gallery, and trailers. Bottom line: a small extras package for a cinematic misfire.] (E. Hulse)