A powerful and somewhat moving film that is hampered by a skilled first-time director (Vadim Perelman), who seems all too aware of the film's dramatic implications. Instead of trusting that the story's drama and meaning will come to the foreground on its own, Perelman imposes it on the audience with countless shots of fog rolling over the house and characters pondering their respective fates. These types of moments are an important element of any good drama, but unless they're relatively subtle they can be far more damaging than beneficial.


Compare HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG to Sam Raimi's similar but vastly superior A SIMPLE PLAN. Both stories are about characters who dig themselves deeper and deeper and end up way over their heads, engaging in behavior they never thought imaginable. Raimi also makes use of quiet setting shots to provide a strong sense of environment and depth, but the moments glide right into the story and don't feel as though they're being crammed in by the director.

What makes this forced drama stand out as being particularly unnecessary is how honest the movie is otherwise. Jennifer Connelly turns in another emotionally stirring performance as a depressed woman who finds herself in a desperate situation, and Ben Kingsley excels as a prideful Iranian immigrant forced to bear the burden of expectations while adapting to a hard life in a new country. His wife, played by Shohreh Aghdashloo, is also quite excellent, not showing much emotion on the surface but plenty underneath.

What makes the end of this film so tragic is the fact that both characters are not at fault for the conflict between them, yet they're both equally responsible for the hard-headed manner in which they react, as well as the resulting consequences. HOUSE is obviously a real downer and probably not the best movie for the holiday season, but it's a good lesson in not allowing your desires or principles to surpass your sense of morality and compassion.

Posted January 08, 2004 | link