Life as a House Review
by Karina Montgomery (cinerina AT flash DOT net)December 19th, 2001
Life As a House
Matinee
I am very negligent - I saw this movie right before I took a long vacation and did not find time to write my review before I left. This is only a shame in that Kevin Kline's latest acting triumph has probably left the theatres by now. Kline plays a man who has found the end of his rope in sight, and decides to build the house he had never built. He's lovely, marvelous, layered, sexy, vulnerable, strong, and utterly convincing. Many of the events in this story, when they come together, seem almost too convenient, but the weight of them is too solid to question them too closely. Kline has a prime lot on the California coastline, a cloudy past of unresolved conflicts, and a determination to cure all with the movie's central metaphor. It works, and it's a delight.
While I accidentally read a review that said this is the whitest movie ever made, I must disagree. Certainly some of the suburban angst that is experienced by some of the secondary characters in the book is the kind of trouble that only the spoiled affluent would find terrible. At the same time, I think it is an upper middle class tragedy (for all but Kline's character), not a white one.
Hayden Christensen, the future Mr. Darth Vader in Star Wars (Episode II: Why Even Bother When It Can Only Suck), plays Kline's fiercely morose son. Hayden was cast in this film before Lucas ever darthened his door, which is fortunate for him; this film's work will enable him to get good, real acting jobs in the future. You can believe, physically, that he is the son of Kline and ex-wife Kristen Scott Thomas. Christensen is smoldering and sexy and vulnerable, but also scary and full of rage and pathos, and his (inevitable) transformation is believable and not too difficult to support. He as an actor will surely go places. He had enough gravity that he was able to take the occasional wince line and make it work.
Kristen Scott Thomas has always been, to me, the chilliest of actresses; she makes Nicole Kidman look like Meg Ryan. However, she floored me in this film - I was sympathetic to her, found her warm and charming, and I am glad to revise my opinion of her. Perhaps the screenwriter smoothed out the character's rough edges when pointy Thomas was cast - perhaps Thomas has a kitten inside her Siberian White Tiger exterior. Either way, I loved her in this film.
I don't want to give anything away, but there is plenty happening in this film that is incredibly painful, shocking, surprising, even scary, and it's balanced almost perfectly against equal amounts of positivity, beauty, strength, love, and justice. Let me just warn you - you will need a hanky. Who cares if it's a little too neatly done? Even as I was blubbering in uncontrolled delight and dismay, I did feel a tad distanced from the ending, but not enough to complain about it. Overall, I found the emotional rollercoaster ride to be satisfying, and I credit the actors and the music for most of that.
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These reviews (c) 2001 Karina Montgomery. Please feel free to forward but just credit the reviewer in the text. Thanks.
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