Dream House (2011)
Certified: 14
Duration: 92 minutes
Directed by: Jim Sheridan
Starring: Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz, Naomi Watts, Marton Csokas, Claire Geare, Taylor Geare, Rachel G. Fox, Mark Wilson, Elias Koteas
KRS release
Dream House is a tired wannabe of a movie that wants to be intelligent and stylish but succeeds in none of these areas.
The film is too convoluted for its own good. In fact, is quite surprising to note that this picture is directed by one of the industry’s most accomplished of storytellers – Jim Sheridan.
Will and Libby (Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz) and their two young daughters, Trish and Dee Dee (Taylor and Claire Geare) have just moved into a new home in the suburbs in Connecticut, away from the madness of New York. Will has given up his career to work on the novel that he has been aspiring to write for so long. Yet they soon find out the ideal house they purchased was the scene of a murder five years earlier.
A man had killed his wife and two daughters in this house, something which neither the neighbours nor the sheriff wishes to discuss. Their neighbour Ann (Naomi Watts), who has a teenage daughter and a very surly ex-husband (Martin Csokas), seems to know more about this event but seems intent on keeping her mouth shut.
Soon enough, strange events start occurring and that is when Will starts to question everything, including his own actions. He starts to investigate the murders and discovers that he had been under psychiatric care yet remembers nothing of this. A strange, mysterious man then starts appearing in the house. He calls himself Boyce (Elias Koteas) but was he the murderer returning to the crime scene or is he holding onto a far worse secret?
First off, the direction by Jim Sheridan (My Left Foot, Brothers) seems to be very insecure; it’s as if the camera is totally disinterested in the on-screen happenings.
The three main actors – Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz and Naomi Watts – seem to have been left to their own wiles and there is no effort to reel them in and keep them in tune with the yarn that is supposedly being spun.
What is more surprising is the number of elements that could have benefitted the filmbut ended up going in the wrong direction.
A definite missing link is the script. The script has Daniel Craig’s character sprawling all over the place, basing itself on a few image changes to signify character changes. The actors had little on which to draw upon. This is very evident as the cast seems to be skimming from barely outlined personalities. At one point the film needs to inject an element of sadness but it only manages to be uncomfortably deadpan.
Naomi Watts emerges as the saving factor as she brings an earnestness that is very convincing.
After watching Dream House I can understand why the Hollywood rumour mill was so alight with talks of clashes between Jim Sheridan, the production team and its main stars.
Overwrought and a slightly on the unintelligible side, Dream House just wastes its potential.