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Life As a House
"I built myself a life. I built
myself a house"
Kevin Kline, A FISH CALLED WANDA's bad boy,
in a well-intended drama that pulls at the
heart-strings.
George Monroe (Kevin Kline) has been one of
the top architects at his form for the past 20
years. The problem is, he's too old-fashioned
when it comes to adhering his craft with the changing
times. When he finally gets fired one afternoon,
he collapses outside his building.
George is diagnosed with cancer. Suddenly his
entire life is put in perspective -- his failed
relationship with his ex-wife Robin (Kristin Scott
Thomas), and his estranged 16-year-old son Sam
(Hayden Christensen), who sports piercings and
blue hair.
What's a man to do when he knows his time is up?
For George, his decision is to build a home and
mend his relationship with his son by taking him
for the Summer. As George begins to change, so
do the people around him. His son starts to better
understand his own anxieties, when discovering more
about his dad.
As much as I enjoyed this film, it is marred with
sexual subplots of Mother and teenage friend sex
that have no reason to be in this film other than
to show Mary Steenburgen in a quick nude shot and
attractive black lingerie (but who's complaining?!)
How is the transfer?
The 16X9 enhanced widescreen (2.10:1) transfer
is quite gorgeous to look at with many shots
of sunsets along the California coastline. The
picture remains very sharp, with vivid colors
that don't become oversaturated. If there was
one gripe about the transfer, it would be the
occasional hint of film grain in some of the
darker scenes. There is also some disturbing
picture noise during the opening credits, but
I am finding this to be more of a common
occurrence with many DVD releases.
If I could use one word to describe the 5.1
DTS mix, I would say that it is very "warm".
The rears have been used to lovingly bring out
the backdrop sounds of the California coast with
its crashing waves. When the rears are not
accenting the wonderful musical score by Mark
Isham, they are constantly brimming with the
sounds of surrounding nature. One of my favorite
sound sequences is a pouring rainstorm and the
sounds of the rain hitting the windows from inside
a mini van. All this may sound a bit trivial until
you get to hear it for yourself.
Special Features
New Line has made Life as a House part
of its renowned Platinum Series. You know this
edition is somewhat special when a snapper case
opens up to an attractive 2-pane gatefold housing
for the DVD.
A really wonderful animated menu sequence greets
you upon insertion of this disc. We are presented
with a picture of the constructed house with panes
of windows featuring character moments.
There is a full-length commentary by Producer/
Director Irwin Winkler, Producer Rob Cowan and
Writer Mark Andrus.
There are two original documentaries
included on this disc. They include...
Inside Life as a House (24:00) begins
with Producer/Director Irwin Winkler confessing
that he had always wanted to know what a person
would do when given only a few months to live.
Such was the inspiration for this film whose
documentary takes you on location and behind the
camera. First up: Kevin destroying architectural
models at his firm (which incidentally one of them
he built himself). Kevin Kline reflects how
Irwin allowed a lot of improvisation from the
actors during the scenes in order to bring out
their characters. Each of the principal actors
talk a little bit about their roles. Most
interesting to listen to is Hayden Christensen
(Sam) who talks about his attraction to the role
because the character is so far removed from what
he really is. What really makes this featurette
interesting is all the footage of the cast having
special moments between the takes as well as
footage of Irwin Winkler hard at work directing
his actors.
From The Ground Up (10:00) brings us to
Marineland, where an actual street of homes is
built from total emptiness. The actual home was
built first as a shack (that represents George's
past), torn down and then rebuilt. This featurette
shows us this new home from its initial blueprint
designs to finish.
There are four deleted/alternate scenes
presented. They include:
* An extended scene where we first
meet Kurt Walker (Scott Bakula) that had
to be dropped because too much information
about the characters was being brought out.
* The same sequence as above is shown
with Kurt Walker being played by William Ross.
The scene was reshot when Scott Bakula was
involved in an accident that left his legs broken.
* George tries to get his sleeping son
off the roof by hosing him down. The scene was
ultimately removed as it slowed down the overall
pacing.
* After George is found by Robin, a
scene was dropped between Sam and his girlfriend
that offered no character change from any of the
scenes before it.
These deleted sequences can be watched with
or without the director's commentary. I suggest
turning the commentary on, as Irwin Winkler adds
some interesting personal insight to each scene.
The Theatrical Press Kit presents we,
the audience, with all the factual information
we need about the production of this movie. This
includes some short production notes about
how Director Irwin Winkler had a dream of making
a movie about a man rebuilding a life from his
heart. There are also Cast and Crew
biographies that let you look into the backgrounds
of the cast in front and behind the camera.
The film's original theatrical trailer
is also included.
There is also DVD-ROM CONTENT that
includes script-to-screen comparisons as well
as access to the film's original website.
Final Thoughts
It's amazing to think that this film doesn't
derive its tears from its predictably manipulative
ending, but rather from the cast that have
successfully brought the characters to life.
Even though the film has its minor flaws, I found
myself filled with tears before the final credits
rolled.
I think you will find Life As A House to
be a wonderfully warm movie that won't make you
feel cheated. You'll ultimately be drawn into
the character's relationships and circumstances
that will easily help us forget the film's faulty
screenplay. By the end of it all, I think it
will affect you emotionally as it did me.
Release Date: NOW
