Gotta always somehow make you good outta what can poison you.
In late 1950’s rural Alabama, young Lewellen lives with her stern religious grandmother, Grammie, but spends most of her time with her much-adored, wild and rough Daddy in his falling down shack. Lewellen is deeply talented and finds comfort and safety, as well as a place to put her hurt and rage, in the music of Elvis Presley, even though Charles, the wise groundskeeper of the mansion down the road, tries to convince her that “there is more to fill out that emptiness with than just Elvis.” Lewellen and her closest friend, Buddy, are caught in a shed during a heavy rainstorm.
During the storm Daddy is struck by lightning and the event leaves him incapacitated as an emotional and mental child. Grammie is convinced that Daddy was stricken down by God to punish Lewellen for her alleged sins with Buddy. Lewellen becomes Daddy’s caretaker and their dysfunctional relationship becomes even more pronounced, Lewellen becoming the parent and Daddy the child. Without any guidance, Lewellen begins to move into dangerous terrain. When Elvis Presley comes to town for a concert, Lewellen is desperate to go but has no money for a ticket.
So, Buddy tricks Lewellen into dancing and singing like Elvis for Wooden’s Boy in exchange for tickets he has to the concert. During the impersonation, Wooden’s Boy attacks Lewellen and leaves her innocence behind. Lewellen’s descent into the cycle of abuse and her own pursuit of self-destruction begins. It is only Charles who can see the spirit in Lewellen and save her soul. He teaches her to use music, “the Blues,” to turn her tragedy into a gift.
About the Story
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.
Lewellen is challenged by many problems besides living in a “broken home”. Ellen leaves one day and breaks Lewellen’s heart, burdening her with the responsibility to be a “mother” despite not having one herself. Her father suffers a terrible accident, and is handicapped to the point of infantile retardation, but the thought of Elvis coming to town gives her the resolve to carry on despite this newest of many traumatic circumstances. Buddy tells Lewellen that Wooden’s Boy has an Elvis ticket and is willing to give it to her if she does her Elvis dance for him naked. When she finds out the deal, she questions doing such an act for a moment. She then agrees to do so, before Wooden’s Boy rapes her.
The sexual assault causes life-threatening emotional trauma, that manifests as an illness. Her loved ones, Charles and Grannie, are distressed by her sudden decline in health. In fits of feverish illness, she hallucinates she is being attacked by venomous snakes, and she also vomits after church. Enraged by hearing the cause of Lewellen’s descent into figurative hell, Charles resolves to rescue his young friend from the depths of despair and tries to help her reclaim her stolen paralyzed voice by encouraging her to sing “Hound Dog”. He nurses her back to health. Ellen soon returns to the town to keep her promise to Lewellen. Lewellen bids farewell to her father and departs for a better life with her new mother.
Production notes provided by Empire Film Group.
Hounddog
Starring: Oliver Clayton-Luce, Dakota Fanning, Isabelle Fuhrman, Cody Hanford, Piper Laurie, David Morse, Robin Wright Penn
Directed by: Deborah Kampmeier
Screenplay by: Deborah Kampmeier
Release Date: September 19, 2008
MPAA Rating: R for for a disturbing sexual assault of a young girl, and brief sexuality.
Studio: Empire Film Group
Box Office Totals
Domestic: $131,961 (100.0%)
Foreign: —
Total: $64,734 (Worldwide)