So at first I figured Trent just killed the dog because it was suffering and to get back at those guys for ruining his mower but when Devon is running away we see the bones in the gate and now I'm thinking about the empty doghouse and Devon's story about the witch that boiled the dog. Yea I don't really know where I'm going with this but I was wondering if someone could explain. Thanks.
One question I had was: Did Trent hit the dog on purpose? At first I thougt no, but when I watched it again, I noticed he had a distinctly hostile expression on his face right before he hit the dog. Which makes things a bit more interesting I think, because it is an instance in which Trent's animosity towards the gated community puts him at odds with Devon-He knew Devon loved the dog, but his anger at his mistreatment got the best of him for a moment, and he betrayed her. I liked this because it showed the intensity of anger(which sam rockwell portrayed brilliantly) that simmered beneath Trent's laid-back exterior, made the movie a little less black and white.
I dont know, maybe im totally off with this, but i was kinda thinking that Trent was actually putting the dog out of its misery. Covering it with the American flag made me think of his father, who served in Korea, who is now permanently (whats the word) f#?ked and who Trent makes a comment earlier towards about when will he die (due to the fact that he - and his wife- is continually suffering waiting for it to end). Trent decided after seeing the dog in pain, that he would put it out of its misery. Draping it in the American flag was exactly like any US soldier that dies in the governments wars.
shareThat's an interesting point, hadn't considered the dog/father symbolism, I can see that. But I think the initial action, hitting the dog with the truck, was an act of revenge. The dog had bitten him, the dog's owner ruined his lawnmower, and the gated community had treated him horribly-Trent's simmering anger, acted excellently imo by Sam Rockwell, finally boiled over-And Devon, feeling betrayed, hit back-Using her social poistion as a weapon against him.
shareI think you're spot on about Trent's reasons for doing what he did. But I'm not so sure that Devon was trying to hit back at him. She just seemed too sincere to do something like that. If she wanted to "get back" at him, it seems more likely she would have attacked him physically. She just saw something pretty violent and disturbing, so maybe she was afraid of Trent, and confused. When she told her father what happened, she couldn't bring herself to actually say that he killed the dog. Of course they assumed that the situation was far worse, so they started the whole "did he touch you?" bit.
shareYou may be right regarding Devon's motivations, I am not sure. I thought I saw a look of determined anger in her eyes at one point, as she was explaining what happened to her parents, which reminded me of Trent's expression before he hit the dog. But, as the scene progressed, she seemed to grow less certain about her accusations perhaps she was beginning to suspect how brutal the response of her parents and the security goon was going to be, or perhaps her anger was beginning to cool, I don't know. I felt uncertain, at times, to what degree Devon was aware of the social implications of her friendship with Trent.
(wow, I'm surprised people read this film's forum so frequently!)
Maybe she realized the implications, but blocked it out like she blocked out her mom's tendency to be a whore.
Then again...she seemed capable of lashing out with her wit when she felt certain she could win. Like when that obnoxious brat from down the block called her a squaw...she didn't hesitate to let him know exactly what she thought about him. Who knows? Maybe it wasn't that kid in particular. She did say that she didn't like other children because they smell like television (and they talk too fast!)
Wow, I had a whole different take on this movie as the rest of you, it seems. I saw Devon as evil and sick. I felt that she was setting up Trent, throughout, like when she practically forced him to touch her scar. You have to admit, she was just not a "normal" child.
shareI need to see this movie!
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check it out...its the dog!
I think the look on his face was just a look that anyone would have when they're forced to kill something. I think it's dumb though that he was chasing the dog with a vehicle lol.
"Oh No, Taking care of the maggots is MY job."
Hmmm I personally think It was a accident.
They were just playing around.
It’s a big truck what Trent drives , Trent was driving along side Tracker , Tracker moved in front of the car and Trent was not able to stop in time.
Say he took the dog to a vet , there would be a very small chance of it surviving, and what would he say to Bret and Eric mambius .
“Hi we just had a fight , and this may seem a bit coincidental but I just hit your dog with my truck., accident I swear!”
They would sue him everywhere.
So he did the thing any normal person would do in that situation , put the dog out of its misery and avoid trouble.
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wow i have never been able to figure that scene out and after reading all these postings im not any closer. i do think trent was mad and the scene showed the dog laying down breathing fast. i could not tell if the dog was badly hurt. devon did want to take it to the vet. he did not seem to take any pleasure in putting it out of its misery. i still dont understand
shareHow could a 10 year old girl be evil and sick. Whenever they use a child, usually the automatic resemblence would be ignorance and innocence, correct? Unless it's The Bad Seed.
sharei think he definitely hit the dog on purpose-venting his anger at the gated community people but then he regretted it immediately and put the dog out of its misery as an act of kindness
wrapping it in the flag - ye shas to do with his dad-laying it at the gate was trent being thoughtful and returning the dog to its home
devon reacted the way she did because she was scared of trent at that time
I think he was kind of lost in the moment. All hefelt was his anger, and he wanted the bullies to py, but when he actually hit the dog he snapped out of it. He realised what he had done and he was deeply sorry that he had vented his frustation on an innocent animal and so he killed him as an act of mercy.
shareI personally have to agree with orangskulls. He couldn't take the dog to the vet. And even if he attempted some sort of secret mission to take the dog to the vet and then when he's fixed drop him at the community, he would'nt have been able to afford it.
Also am I the only one who felt Devon had a devilish look before the dog got hit and she seemed to be the one to encourage him to go after it. I think when push came to shove, she didn't want Trent to hurt the dog, because she prefers him to people.
Well the only thing in the movie that spoilt it was the killing of the dog, it was uncalled for and unnecessary in my opinion.
I liked Trent up until that part, it ruined it because I did not like him after that. I am a great animal lover so I guess I am going to feel that way. Other than that part the movie is brilliant.
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i thought that while they were chasing the dog with the truck Trent's face kinda looked like he meant to hit Tracker, but they he seemed to have an "oh *beep* what did i just do" look on his face and hitting Tracker was to put him out of his misery. as for Devon, i thought she was just scared and not sure what had really happened and only after her parents and everyone freaked out she realized what she had done and then had to try and save her friend.
shareI know this is a fairly fair out idea, but do you notice that Trent had a dog house. I think this might be significant. There may have been a reason that we dont see on the screen, maybe they killed his dog... etc. It also zooms out to his gate at one point and you can see the bones that are embroidered on the metal. I honestly think that he took revenge but felt bad about killing the animal and thus wrapped it in the flag.
If you want to go really far out, you might go on to think of his lawnmower as a dog of sorts... the film is after all called lawn dogs. They killed his Lawnmower and thus he killed their dog. Just a thought.