Hello fellow readers, this is Mr. Birdwell. It’s that time of the week again where I provide another review for you guys. Thanks for browsing and welcome to today’s review. Today we are going to be looking at a much underrated drama called “House of Sand and Fog.”
“House of Sand and Fog” is from 2003 and stars Jennifer Connelly, Ben Kingsley, Ron Eldard, Shohreh Aghdashloo, and Jonathan Ahdout. Based on the novel by Andre Dubus III, the movie is about a woman named Kathy Nicolo, played by Jennifer Connelly, who is wrongfully convicted from her house, and starts a tragic conflict with the new owners of the home. Ben Kingsley and Shohreh Aghdashloo play an Iranian married couple who purchase the house and are trying to make it in America plus provide a living for themselves and their son.
The idea of owning a house is part of the American Dream. But what is the American Dream exactly? According to some sites, the American Dream is the notion that the American social, economic, and political system makes success possible for every American. With the way things are looking now, that dream seems impossible for more and more people that it was say thirty to fifty years ago. “House of Sand and Fog” is a story that portrays the dark side of the American Dream.
The first thing to discuss is the positives. Jennifer Connelly does an excellent job as Kathy Nicolo. She is a woman whom you feel sorry for, because she is in the midst of rebuilding her life. She’s a recovering addict, her husband has left her, and to paraphrase in her words, she just feels lost. I think everyone has felt lost, and it’s something most people could relate to.
There is also Ben Kingsley and Shohreh Aghdashloo as a married couple emigrated from Iran. Kingsley’s character is a former colonel in the Iranian army whose family was exiled. His performance is intriguing and you see him trying to struggle to create a perfect life for his family. Shohreh Aghdashloo is excellent as his wife. She doesn’t have too much dialogue, but she expresses a lot of emotion with her face. Whenever she is on screen, you feel sorry for her as well because her life has been turned upside down. She loves her husband, but will stand up to him.
The way this film was shot is beautiful to look at. There are segways throughout the film, be it shots of fog coming towards San Francisco, or an image of looking at the sun through the trees. Usually, segways bother me, but here you feel like you are living in this film’s world. Also, the score by James Horner is very emotional. It was Oscar nominated, but it was up against Howard Shore’s score for Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. When you are in a category with Lord of the Rings, there is no chance for the other contenders.
There are some things that did bother me about this movie though. For one, I didn’t really care for the character of Lester played by Ron Eldard. He’s Kathy’s love interest in the film, despite him being married with children. He doesn’t listen to reason, and he thinks that what he is doing to try and help Kathy is right, but it turns out to be wrong. Also, I felt that the last twenty minutes felt rushed. It starts at one specific scene. I’m not going to spoil what happens, but when this scene occurs, that is when the film because abrupt and the ending felt rushed, at least to me anyway. But I won’t let the negatives ruin the movie for me.
Overall, I would say “House of Sand and Fog” is a much underrated drama that deserves to be noticed. It has great performances, except for Ron Eldard, and it is shot so beautifully that it’ll stay with you after you watch it. I’m going to give “House of Sand and Fog” a 4/5.
Thank you so much for reading this review. If you have seen “House of Sand and Fog”, let me know your thoughts. This is Mr. Birdwell saying, “Keep Reading and Watching. You’ll never know when you’ll find something remarkable.”