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Your Gateway to Music and More from a Christian Perspective Slow down as you approach the gate, and have your change ready.... |
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Life
As a House
Starring: Kevin Kline, Kristin Scott Thomas, Hayden Christiansen, Jamey Sheridan, Jena Malone and Mary Steenburgen Directed by Irwin Winkler Written by Mark Andrus Cinematography by Vilmos Zsigmond, A. S. C. Music by Mark Isham New Line Cinema Running Time: two hours Rated R for drug use, nudity and sexual scenes Website: http://www.lifeasahouse.com Life As a House gives Kevin Kline (A Fish Named Wanda) a chance to try for an Oscar nomination. It is Kline's performance as a dying man that gives life to this film. Mark Andrus (As Good As It Gets) knows how to write dialogue, but it takes actors to bring it to film audiences, compliments of director Irwin Winkler. The cast includes Kristin Scott Thomas (The Horse Whisperer) as Kline's former wife, , Jamey Sheridan as her second husband, Hayden Christiansen (Darth Vader in the next Star Wars film) as Kline and Thomas' son, Jena Malone as Christiansen's teen friend, and Mary Steenburgen as Malone's mother. Thus, the stage is set for a gentle comedy/drama about a man's decision about the end of his life. Kline plays an architect who is fired due to lack of productivity before discovering the real reason: advanced cancer. He lives in a dilapidated house on the coast (spectacular view, of course) that is the bane of the wealthy neighborhood. With a few months to live, and for reasons of his own, Kline decides to tear down the old home and build his dream house. He wants his teen-aged son Sam to help him, and readily gets the OK from his ex-wife and her husband who can't cope with this Goth-dressing, makeup wearing, body pierced teen who can't go through the day without drugs of some kind. Will father and son permanently bond? Will Kline live to finish the house? Life As a House gently flows along answering these questions with humor in just the right spots usually provided by Kline's dog that loves to taunt the neighbors with his escapades. Kline looks like a man in ill health. Kristin Scott Thomas, no matter how hard she tries, will ever be the Ice Queen on screen. You just can't place her as a nurturing mother. I wonder if this would have been a better film if she and Mary Steenburgen had traded roles. Hayden Christiansen has the brooding looks of a young James Dean, but his line delivery is flat at times. Jena Malone's role is way out of place here. The film did not need a sexually precocious teen in the story and her part seems to have been written in for the teens in the crowd. Jamey Sheridan comes and goes as the plot requires, hardly enough to make an impression. What does come to life---eventually---are the reasons Kline wants to demolish the old house. As with Bandits, the coastline is part of the plot, but Life As a House has much stronger dialogue so the ocean doesn't overwhelm the players. One word of warning, though---don't try cliff jumping as actors do in the film. This is dangerous, as is glue-sniffing. Copyright 2001 Marie Asner
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