A plan afoot to show the "Walker Payne" DVD for free in local theaters went up in smoke recently after a preview of the film.

The graphic dogfighting and a couple of racy bedroom scenes apparently didn't sit well with viewers previousl;y eager to see the movie shot in Gaffmey in 2005. While the movie is about a family, "Walker Payne" proved to be far from the family drama I expected when I watched this film on its Aug. 26 DVD release date.

Jason Patric plays a newly unemployed quarry worker named Walker who is denied visitation rights to his two daughters because he can't pay his child support payments. Walker's exwife, Lou Ann, makes a deal with Walker that he can buy the kids from her for $5,000.

Desperate to find money, help for Walker arrives in the form of a mysterious stranger played by Sam Shepherd. He convinces Walker to become a novice dogfighter and put his loyal pit bull in the ring for the chance to earn enough money so he can see his kids.

I wonder what the film makers were thinking when they decided to make animal cruelty a central theme in the story.

The dogfighting scenes are hard to stomach. Shot in a series of closeups, I found it difficult to watch dogs attempt to tear each other up as spectators cheered.

The worst scene in the movie occurs when Walker's pit bull gets severely injured while he wins a few matches.

His girlfriend, Audrey, tells Walker she can't love him if he's going to be cruel to his dog. She then tells him about how her ex-husband once beat her as a way of dealing with a job he disliked.

I'm not sure if Audrey intends to compare dogfights to domestic violence in this particular scene. The character's comments only served as a reminder of how cruel people can be to humans and their own animals.

While the film went for realism, I think the dogfighting scenes played a major role in the independent film not being picked up for distribution. The movie made its world premier at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival. It remained in limbo until its recent release on DVD.

There was a lot of talent on screen.

"Walker Payne" starred Patric ("The Lost Boys"), Drea de Matteo (TV's The Sopranos), KaDee Strickland ("American Gangster"), Sam Shepard ("The Assassination of Jesse James") and Bruce Dern ("Monster.") These credits show the cast has appeared in Oscar nominated and critically acclaimed films.

Both Patric and Shepard are excellent in the lead roles in "Walker." Unfortunately, their characters are so onedimensional that the only thing left to root for is a happy outcome for the children.

This movie doesn't believe in happy endings.

Gaffney residents will recognize few familiar sights while watching "Walker Payne." The interior of Mabry's Restaurant is used in multiple diner scenes. A street chase scene shows Birnie Street in the dark.

There is a brief glimpse of extras in the background towards the end of the film.

Nothing in the "Walker" movie really shows people from outside our area anything about Gaffney. Hopefully, another film company will take advantage of our state's film incentive package and make a movie that better showcases Gaffney.

"Walker Payne" gets high marks from me in one area. The film makers did such a great job of making the dogfights look realistic that it really does look like the dogs are being ripped apart. Maybe, they did too good of a job.

Human nature is ugly enough. Perhaps what "Walker Payne" really wants to tell us is we should treat all humans and animals with the dignity and respect they deserve.

This would make the world a much better place to live and watch.

Scott Powell (spowell@gaffneyledger.com) covers education issues for The Gaffney Ledger.