MovieChat Forums > Lawn Dogs (1998) Discussion > I think Devon was meant to be traumatise...

I think Devon was meant to be traumatised by her heart surgeries


A friend told me about this movie years ago and thought I would have an interesting take on it because I had 3 heart surgeries as a kid and one as an adult. I remember knowing that I was different to other kids and feeling like I was 'weird'. I would freak out over little things without warning - like if the teacher read a story book where an animal died I would have a complete meltdown, if I went on a camp I would suddenly have a meltdown because my parents weren't there. I don't know what went through my head at these times, it would be like I just snapped.

I think Devon was like this in another way - she lived in a fantasy world where she didn't have to deal with reality, yet one of the first things she would talk about when she met new people was her heart (she started talking about this at the tree with Trent). She became really interested in Trent when she too almost died. Also, the way she took her dolls apart was a bit like she was re-enacting surgery on them, sort of like how children who have been molested show signs of inappropriate play with dolls (re-enacting what happened to them). When she shot that guy in the end, she was numb to the violence she caused, simply stating that she lost bucket loads of blood and didn't die... yet look at how she freaked out when Tracker died?

Do you think imagining her as traumatised from the surgery and trying to escape from reality give more meaning to her strange behaviour (howling on the roof naked etc).

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