Life as a house (2001) (Review)

Life as a house (2001) Story: When a man is diagnosed with terminal cancer, he takes custody of his misanthropic teenage son, for whom quality time means getting high, engaging in small-time prostitution, and avoiding his father.

Okay! I’m going to be very hard on this film. I probably saw it 23 years late. But that doesn’t matter: a really good film survives the decades without a hitch. American Beauty is yet another example. I’ve read countless good reviews, saying it’s an absolute masterpiece. I don’t know how I would have reacted if I hadn’t read all that. Because, unfortunately, I tried, I really tried, to enjoy this film with all my might. At one point, I even said to myself that the ending must have been so great that people were left on such a high note. It was really painful for me. As a result, I’m still going to consider this a Good film, so three stars. But… The house is so easy to build! Everyone knows how to build a house in this movie… or pay for workers. The film starts out very well, and even very funny. But it quickly gets bogged down. And then, frankly, we know everything that’s going to happen. We know that a woman is going to go back to her husband, that the rebel is going to soften up, that a tragedy is going to happen, etc. Yet I hadn’t read anything about the story. I thought Hayden Christensen was finally going to do well in a film, but it’s all a waste. This actor is often insufferable. And here, he’s in an insufferable role to boot. Kristin Scott Thomas impresses me just because she has class and speaks perfect French and English. But I’ve never seen her in a transcendent role. Rather, she’s the one everyone falls in love with. Jena Malone, often adorable, is here in a nymphomaniac role, as is her mother, played by Mary Steenburgen… as if by chance! Steenburgen’s role in Gilbert Grape is a definite departure from the purity of her character in Back to the Future 3. I was very happy to see Scott Bakula, but we hardly see him at all. No more than in American Beauty, in fact! Only Kevin Kline remains convincing. He’s the central element, always with his extraordinary charisma and expressive eyes. That said, although the ending is tragic, it didn’t bring tears to my eyes this time. It’s still powerful, but I’ve had to toughen up to films like this. The film is full of moments of boredom and inconsistencies that the ending and the beauty of the story can’t really make me forgive.

My Rating