By John Frame (2 June, 2002)

Life As A House (2001)

Director: Irwin Winkler

Writer: Mark Andrus

Actors: Kevin Kline as George Monroe, Kristin Scott Thomas as Robin Kimball, Hayden Christensen as Sam Monroe, Jena Malone as Alyssa Beck, Mary Steenburgen as Colleen Beck.

I was impressed with how big and beautiful the whole film was to look at - with lots of natural exposures, rather than it all looking like a studio shoot. The scenic panoramas were matched by the breadth of character development and inter-relationships.

Kevin Kline shows he can do a lot more than play a convincing fem gay man, while his character George is still able to effectively use comic devices to deal with his physical pain and emotional turmoil.

This may be a classic chick-flick &/or tear-jerker, but it has a special quality through the strength of the performances, the quality of the script and the stunning direction that make it just as much an enjoyable cinema experience as the 2001 version of The Deep End.

The gay references and elements are handled well. Neither parent is concerned about Sam's possible sexuality (unlike the yobbos at his school) - rather they are concerned that he is not having a good time in life. A change I would make to the script is that when George says to son Sam the rather selfish "I wanted to make you love me", he would say "I wanted to make you love yourself".