People embrace the enchanting glow of the big screen for all manner of reasons; to journey to faraway places they could only ever imagine, to experience the escapism of a captivating story, or maybe to indulge in an obsession with the world of cinema. For me, all three of these reasons apply - and many more - but first and foremost is the satisfaction of recommending obscure films to other like-minded individuals who adopt them as their new favourites.
With over 100 years worth of films to choose from, and many of these now available at the click of a button, it can be extremely difficult to narrow your choices down to pick a film to watch. Although cinema has been around for over four times longer than my life on this earth, I have spent what some may consider an unhealthy amount of these years delving into the history of films to discover some of the best hidden gems out there.

Director - John Duigan
Country - USA
Year - 1997
An innocent friendship between a young girl whose family have relocated to a tranquil suburb in Kentucky and a strange outsider who makes a living mowing the lawns of its rich residents is the focus of John Duigan's wonderful fantasy drama, Lawn Dogs. Mischa Barton makes her debut feature film appearance as Devon Stockard, a ten year old girl who is neglected by her parents, Morton (Christopher McDonald) and Clare (Kathleen Quinlan), and forms a bond with twenty-one year old Trent Burns (Sam Rockwell) after she stumbles upon his ramshackle caravan deep in the nearby woods. The Stockards would be horrified if they knew Devon had left the safety of their gated community so Trent returns her home, making sure to drop her at the border of the suburbs so as not to arouse any suspicion from Nash (Bruce McGill), the overzealous police officer who rules over the neighbourhood with an iron fist.
Like American Beauty and Suburbicon, Lawn Dogs holds a magnifying glass up at the inner workings of the American suburb, exploring the notion that all is not well behind the white-washed fences of a seemingly perfect community and its residents who masquerade dark secrets. Where Lawn Dogs differs is in its viewpoint of this unease that bubbles under the surface, as we see the cracks in the facade through the eyes of Devon, whose overactive imagination leads her young mind to retreat into a dream-like fantasy land. Devon takes inspiration from the classic Russian folk tale of the Baba Yaga, a story about an evil witch who dwells in the woods and eats children; applying this fable to her own parallel experiences as she has no friends of her own age to play with. The child-like and caring nature of Trent resounds with Devon and the two outsiders find companionship in an unlikely alliance, even if it exposes them to the inherent dangers that lurk within the model society they both turn their back upon.

As well as bringing a charged emotional depth to his performance Rockwell is the driving force for much of the film's humour; his cheeky grin as he stops traffic to dive naked into a river from a tall bridge after a hard day's work is a revealing scene for Trent, in more ways than one. Innocent nudity is also displayed by Barton in a scene where Devon tosses her clothes out to the wind as she curls up on the roof outside of her bedroom window in another moment of rebellion. These scenes serve to highlight the similarities between the two individuals as they vent their frustrations in ways that upset the status quo and demonstrates that they are not yet shackled by the loss of innocence that has ushered on the repression of others around them.

If you take the time to watch Lawn Dogs then it would be awesome if you could also take the time to let me know what you thought of it, either by commenting below or tweeting me @filmbantha. Thanks, and enjoy!
She fell in love with him, pure and simple. When a girl descends two steps at a time, breathless with excitement upon the mere distant sound of Trent's mower, that speaks volumes.
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