The Lawn Dogs DVD has hands down the most misleading cover image — shown above — that I've witnessed. The cover, as well as the back cover, hint that the movie is about cheating upperclass housewives, which is not the case at all. The explanation for this is probably that somebody considered it too daring to portray the real theme of movie: a friendship between Devon (Mischa Barton), the ten-year-old daughter of said housewife, and a poor lawn mower Trent (Sam Rockwell).

That mind set — that a friendship of a rich young girl and a poor adult man is immediately highly suspicious and inappropriate — is shared by the makers of the DVD cover and Devon's parents. Such shallow prejudice is perhaps why Devon isn't happy living in Camelot Gardens, a gated, isolated community for the rich, where everybody appears to be the likes of her parents.

I first saw this movie at a movie festival a decade ago. The opening scene had Devon in a white dress, a lawn, crickets chirping in warm dusk, and narration in Mischa's unique voice: "Once upon a time, in a far off land, lived a girl. ... Outside the village was Baba Yaga the witch ... who ate little girls for dinner." I was hooked, and what followed got only better.

The fairy tale of Baba Yaga is also in Devon's mind as her parents, new to Camelot Gardens and eager to climb the social ladder by making their name known, send her to sell cookies. Frequently delightfully willful, as well as dismayed at the idea of interacting with people in the neighborhood, Devon does the very thing her parents warned her about, and heads outside of the gates. By chance, she happens by a broken trailer in a forest. "Baba Yaga's hut!" she whispers to herself, thrilled, upon entering the presently vacant trailer, picturing herself as the girl of the fairy tale.

As Trent comes home to his trailer, he finds Devon inside. Despite the awkward circumstances, Devon is immediately attracted to Trent, a person completely opposite of her parents and whom they'd want her to associate with. Though Trent is at first standoffish, Devon's persistent friendliness and strong, curious personality eventually win him over. This unlikely friendship is the main theme of the movie. There is one overriding problem in the relationship: the perception of it by the outside world. That fact is not lost on Devon. When Trent asks her what her father would do if he found out she's staying the night in his place, her answer says it all: "He'd cut off my feet. And then he'd tie you to a stake and burn you." The reference to the witch of the story being hunted down and burnt at the stake is obvious, apt, and regrettably timely.

The other theme of the movie is the distasteful life of the rich in Camelot Gardens. Some consider a major statement of the movie to be that the rich are evil, their lives dishonest, and minds narrow. I, instead, think that the story is fully focused on the relationship of Devon and Trent, and all the other characters merely serve to provide context for the relationship. Put that way, I find it justifiable that Devon's parents, among others, remain somewhat one dimensional.

Trent is the pariah of the society, tolerated for his usefulness, but cruelly made fun of. He's told not to stay in Camelot Gardens after five pm, and is an automatic suspect of any theft and mischief. In return, Trent has little love to lose, and rather unwisely takes care to subtly piss off his employers.

Devon's discomfort with her parents and the life they lead is equally evident. As Trent comes to her parents' barbeque party asking to be paid for his work, Devon is told to get him a plate of food. However, Trent gets driven off by bullying from Devon's father and others. Upset, Devon dumps the food into her father's tool pack and pees on the windshield of his car. She gets into the car, and finds his gun. As she's playing with it, the young man who is having an affair with her mother shows up. "Ever feel what one of these would feel like, going in?" he speaks, caressing Devon's lips with a bullet from the gun. "You smell like your mom," he whispers, trying to slip his hand inside her shirt. Devon squirms away and escapes. The man, amused, tells her to keep quiet of what happened. Not easily scared, Devon tells her parents, who, the mother in particular, do their best to brush the situation off as innocent playing. Such a reaction serves well to underline how differently they relate to Trent.

The relationship of Devon and Trent is full of fun and goofing off, initiated by both. They steal and cook a chicken, moon some fishermen and just talk silly talk, having a good time. "We're best friends, right?" Devon finally asks, and as Trent doesn't deny, says, "Then I'll show you," and she starts unbuttoning her shirt. Shocked, Trent turns away, and tells her to stop. "It's not my tits I want to show you, stupid," she laughs. Instead, she shows him the very large scar she has from a heart surgery, and has him touch it. Then she wants to see his scar, from a shotgun wound. Reasonably impressed, she wants to touch his, too, although she must admit, "Mine is bigger."

Just then a familiar dog that has apparently gotten loose runs by, and Devon persuades Trent to try and catch the dog with their car. By accident, the car hits the dog, and Trent must finish it off by hitting with a board. Devon gets freaked out, not understanding why Trent is doing that, and runs home. From her incoherent explanation her parents get the incorrect idea she's frightened because Trent has touched her sexually, and her father sets after him with his buddies.

Trent receives a beating and might have gotten killed if Devon and her father's gun didn't interfere. Devon tells him to escape, like the girl escaped the witch in the tale. Caught up in the fantasy of her stories, she gives him a magic comb and an embroided towel to help his escape. Trent asks her how the story ends, and she tells him. "She ran and she ran until she was home," she says. "Home? Yeah, tell me where that is, Devon," he replies. Devon cups his face in her hands. "Home is in my hands," she tenderly says. Whether it's his means for getting home that are in her hands, or the answer is just a statement of love, I'm not sure, but that line and Mischa's delivery of it never fail to impress me.

The movie finishes with a lovely fantasy sequence of Trent driving away into safety, narrated again by Devon as she tells the fairy tale, only now in place of the girl is a boy. There might be something special about the music of the end scene alone, but combined with Mischa's narration and the beautiful cinematography of her sitting up in a tree with a dreamy, longing expression, there definitely is magic in it that works on me every time I rewatch the movie.

When the show was over and I was walking home from the festival, I felt sad, but even more so elated. Sad, of course, that the movie had come to end. Elated, because the magic of it hadn't left me. It was a warm late summer night, and my spirits were high. The world looked beautiful, its denizens kind. I imagine I had on my face that stupid smile worn by those freshly in love.

If it's not obvious by now, Mischa's performance is beyond uniquely wonderful. Her voice is slow and detailed and impossible to mistake for that of anyone else, and I love it dearly. Her facial expressions are equally impressive in their versatility. If you've seen Mischa's more recent work, don't draw hasty conclusions: in Lawn Dogs she's so much better than in any other role of hers.

With such thoughts associated with Lawn Dogs, I can only give it the highest scores. It has its flaws, I suppose, yet I cannot imagine a better movie.