Hounddog (film)
| Hounddog | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Deborah Kampmeier |
| Produced by | Deborah Kampmeier Robin Wright Penn Raye Dowell Jen Gatien Terry Leonard |
| Written by | Deborah Kampmeier |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Gisburg |
| Cinematography | Jim Denault |
| Edited by | Sabine Hoffmann |
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Production
company |
Empire Film Group
Hannover House |
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Release date
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Running time
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102 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $3.75 million |
| Box office | $131,961 |
Hounddog is a 2007 coming-of-age drama film written, directed, and produced by Deborah Kampmeier and starring Dakota Fanning, Isabelle Fuhrman, Robin Wright Penn, and Piper Laurie, among others. It is also Isabelle Fuhrman's debut film. Penn also serves as an executive producer. The film was produced by Raye Dowell, Jen Gatien, and Terry Leonard. It premiered in competition at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, and was given a limited release in 11 North American theaters on September 19, 2008.
Shot near Wilmington, North Carolina and taking place in the late 1950s rural Alabama, the film stars Fanning as Lewellen, "a troubled 12-year-old girl who finds solace from an abusive life through music of Elvis Presley."
The film was panned by critics, due in part to a controversial scene in which Fanning's character is raped. The film was also a box office failure, grossing only $131,961, against an estimated $3.75 million production budget.
Lewellen lives with her stern, religious grandmother, Grannie, who has taken it upon herself to raise the girl, as neither of Lewellen's parents can provide her a stable home. Her father, Lou, loves her and tries to please her, giving her gifts such as Elvis Presley recordings. Although he battles with alcoholism, he tries his best to give Lewellen a stable home. He even tries to provide a motherly figure in Lewellen's life by dating a mysterious girlfriend, Ellen, who promised one night to rescue Lewellen from life in the rural South should the relationship falter. We later learn that Ellen is in fact Lewellen's aunt, her mother's sister.
Lewellen is able to maintain her innocence by finding consolation in playing with her best friend Buddy, idling away her last pre-teen summer with typical outdoor rural pastimes such as swimming in the pond and exploring the woods, meeting a new friend, Grasshopper, while spending the summer with her grandparents. Lewellen is enchanted by her idol, Elvis Presley, who is making a homecoming tour in the South. Her town is one of the venue stops. Lewellen finds that singing Elvis' music is a way to channel her trauma into something constructive and creative. Charles (Afemo Omilami) acts as a mentor, imparting wisdom of his snake handler religion to explain this emotional channelling to her — in other words, how to create something positive out of something venomous and deadly.
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