Reel critics

Allen MacDonald

“Life As A House” is an unapologetic “button pusher” designed to

manipulate your emotions and squeeze out your tears. Its structure and

characters are as subtle as a brick dropped on your head. Every line of

dialogue acts as a loaded gun of life changing sentiment. Be that as it

may, this is an effective movie that will likely win you over.

The story centers around George Monroe (Kevin Kline), a model builder

for an architectural firm who lives in a dilapidated shack that sits on

expensive beachfront property overlooking the edge of a stunning Laguna

cliff. George has become a listless, bitter man who has lost his zest for

life. We know this because he doesn’t shave and marches around his

frontyard wearing white briefs, often relieving his bladder off the

cliff.

George’s relations with his only child, Sam (Hayden Christensen) and

his ex-wife Robin (Kristin Scott Thomas) seem irreparably fractured. Sam

has become a lost, bitter, closed-off adolescent who angrily lashes out

at everyone who dares to love him. We know this because he has multiple

body piercings, swears loudly, listens to Marilyn Manson and uses drugs

like candy.

In one single, horribly bad day, George is fired then discovers he is

dying of cancer. This emboldens him to rip down the shack and force Sam

to spend the summer helping George build the dream house he no longer has

the time to put off, and maybe, just maybe, save his son from a path of

self-destruction. In essence, Sam becomes George’s final, most important

project.

The film succeeds best when utilizing its clever metaphors: George and

Sam’s bond deepens in perfect unison with the construction of the house;

the shack represents the baggage father and son must tear down before

beginning a new, stronger structure. The character contrasts are also

vividly drawn. As George deteriorates and numbs himself with drugs for

his physical pain, Sam grows stronger and weans himself off the drugs

that numbed his emotional pain.

“Life As A House” fails by trying to accommodate too many characters

and story lines. While the idea that George’s renewed spirit is

contagious and spreads to all those he meets is a good one, it also

spreads the story thin, throwing off the focus. In fact, a subplot

involving Sam’s sexual awakening with the next door neighbor Alyssa (Jena

Malone) becomes far more compelling than the central father/son story

thread. These scenes boast a touching range of depth as Sam and Alyssa

dance around their growing attraction until their magnetic chemistry can

no longer be ignored. As actors, Christensen and Malone blow away the

competition, but get shortchanged by useless characters who waste

precious screen time.

“Life As A House” is a glorified TV movie elevated by its acting

talent. This isn’t an insult. It’s a compliment. The movie wears its

heart on its sleeve, and although the heavy-handed dialogue may make you

cringe, it is engrossing. Despite obvious flaws, we know where the story

is heading from the start, so the entertainment comes from the surprises

we encounter on the way.

“Life As A House” doesn’t pull any punches, it wants to make you cry.

I mean, I didn’t cry, but I’m different. Really. I swear.