Wednesday December 15, 2004 
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All
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Holes in the Water
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Non Sequitur
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Sun
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The Orthodox Church
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What's in the CD player?
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What's in the DVD player?
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What's on the bookshelf?
Wednesday December 15, 2004
A dark, haunting, hauntingly beautiful film. Kathy Nicolo (Jennifer Connelly) is a recovering alcoholic, abandoned by her husband, not really getting by in the house her father left her. Failing to attend to an improper tax bill from the county, her house is auctioned off and purchased by Massoud Amir Behrani (Sir Ben Kingsley), formerly a high-ranking military officer under the Shah of Iran. Behrani isn't really getting by either, working construction by day and clerking at a convenience store by night, as he tries to maintain at least the illusion of the kind of life he and his family enjoyed back in the day, back in Iran. Things are especially difficult for his wife Nadi (Shohreh Aghdashloo), who has not quite adapted to her new life in exile, and for their teenage son Esmail (Jonathan Ahdout). Complicating things: the deputy sheriff (Ron Eldard) sent to evict Kathy is going through a crisis of his own, the sparks of which will ignite the tinder of pride and need surrounding the House. You can see the end coming long before it happens, like watching a train and a car speed towards the same crossing in the distance; you can feel the vibrations of it in the air. She must get her house back; he cannot possibly give it up. Neither is a bad person, neither one is wrong. Rather, they are both wronged; both suffer as fallen innocents, fate driving them towards a tragic conclusion that cannot be averted or delayed. That they can feel compassion for the other -- there's one scene in the driveway of the house that is as heartbreaking as anything I can ever remember seeing, in any film -- makes the tragedy all the more poignant. And there's more to come before the end. Kingsley is magnificent (as always); Aghdashloo is pitch perfect. And Jennifer Connelly will positively melt your heart. She is every bit as good here as she was in A Beautiful Mind, for which she won the Oscar in 2002. She should have won another one for this. You absolutely must (2004-12-15 17:47:40.0) Permalink Comments:
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