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House of Sand and Fog (2003): 10/10

Poster (c) DreamWorks Pictures

A few years ago, when Hollywood wanted to make a movie out of Andre Dubus III’s novel House of Sand and Fog, over 100 studios were bidding for the rights to the film. DreamWorks, obviously, won, and created a masterpiece. It’s easy to see why so many studios would want to grab this little gem. It’s more than it looks. On the outside, it looks like a simple, basic tragedy, something maybe along the lines of Far From Heaven, about the breakdown of people, but really it’s a lot deeper. House of Sand and Fog goes into the true character, the flaws that everyone has and the conflicting emotions of each.

Kathy (Jennifer Connelly) is recovering from alcoholism and her recent divorce, but a tax is imposed on her that she wasn’t supposed to pay. She’s evicted from her house and in moves Col. Behrani (Ben Kingsley), with his family. They have immigrated from Iran. Kathy realizes that the government wronged her, but to get the house back, they would need Behrani to agree, which he doesn’t. What ensues is a back-and-forth about difference of opinion.

What really got to me about House of Sand and Fog was how emotional it was without being obvious. It can really get to the audience without really knowing, which is what it did to me. Emotions change so quickly, one minute you may be content and the next you could be yelling in your head for the characters to change what they’re doing. The emotions that the characters, each one of them, convey are so realistic and can really ring it in.

Freshman director Vadim Perelman really knows how to direct a film. With using the least amount of dialogue as possible, he keeps the true issue at hand, which is devotion. Not only both Kathy’s and Behrani’s devotion to the house, but also devotion to other people. Behrani’s first goal is his devotion to his family, and Kathy has a new devotion to police officer Lester (Ron Eldard). Lester, although he separates with his wife in the movie, still has a devotion to his family. Perelman makes this movie that could become so unrealistic that it becomes farcical into something more true, because of the minimal dialogue. No one talks to his or herself when they’re alone. People don’t talk to each other just to further the plot. With this I feel that Perelman can become a famous director soon. In addition, the characters don’t talk about things that don’t matter. For instance, if the Behranis go back to Iran, they will be killed. Why? We don’t know and it doesn’t matter.

Kingsley puts in a truly emotional performance. His whole heart and soul go into it, and, although he may have won an Oscar for being Gandhi, this was the role he was meant to play. He plays the man who tries to hide his feelings, but with a little perusing, it’s easy to tell that this man is uneven. Connelly seems to have a New Year’s resolution: in any movies she’s in now, she cannot cry for half the time, she can only cry for one third of the movie. Although she was good in A Beautiful Mind and The Hulk, she spent most of her screentime crying. Here, she actually has some real dialogue in between all of the sobbing. Eldard plays one of the most malevolent characters I’ve ever seen on screen, just because of his ignorance, and by doing that, he’s great, but he’s outshadowed by the two other performances.

It’s safe to say that House of Sand and Fog isn’t for everybody. In fact, it’s probably not for most people. However, if you’re in the mood for a real downer, and a great one at that, then this is your movie.

Rated R for some violence/disturbing images, language and a scene of sexuality.

Review Date: December 31, 2003