Mikes Film Talk

The 2011 film Dream House was a pleasant surprise. I had no real intention of watching the film. The marketing is pretty abysmal for the film.  But as it was streaming on Sky Movies I decided to give it a go. I’m glad I did.  It turned into a pleasant surprise, despite the somewhat jumbled editing and plot holes.

What it is

Jim Sheridan directs Dream House. The film stars Daniel Craig, Naomi Watts, Rachel Weisz and the film is a psychological thriller. Dream House is marketed as a horror film. The film was almost universally panned. by. Although that is usually the case when films are not screened for critics.

Problems

The other problem the film encountered was that Jim Sheridan had major problems with the producers Morgan Creek Productions. Morgan Creek took the film away from the director and did their own final cut on the film. Sheridan then  attempted to have his name removed from the production. Two of the film’s stars,  Craig and Weisz, also refused to do any publicity for the film.

Daniel Craig was completely disgusted by the final product.  In interviews after the fact revealed that he did not like the finished film. He did, however, meet his future wife Rachel Weisz on the project, so it was “a fair trade.”

The story

The film follows Will Atenton (Craig)  who has quit his desk job and is going to write a book. He has a leaving party and goes to his new home. The new house is away from the city and he starts his new job as novelist.  His family consists of wife Libby (Weisz), and their two daughters Trish and DeeDee.

The small family seem to have an almost idyllic life. Suddenly they start being threatened. Someone is watching their every move and the local police will not help them. Apart from a reluctantly helpful neighbour, Ann Patterson (Watts), no one in the small town is on their side.

Will decides he alone must help his family. He soon learns that the house  his perfect family live in was the scene of a gruesome murder.

it works

The story moves on quite well and the pacing, though uneven, is still on-par for the genre. Despite the director’s unhappiness  with the final product, it is overall a very satisfactory film. Dream House, for all its negative reviews is a pleasant surprise. The plot twists, are genuinely surprising. I confess that by the end of the film, I almost had a tear in my eye.

Almost.

It would have been nice to see the film that Sheridan, Craig and Weisz had imagined. It is not unusual for producers to snatch a film from  a director after disagreements arise. We can only wonder just how powerful the original vision might have been.

All the actors do a brilliant job in the film. Craig proved, once again, that he is not just a “Bond” one-trick pony. He had shown his acting chops well before he took on 007. It was nice to see those chops reaffirmed. Weisz is, as usual, a pleasure to watch. She always brings a huge degree of truth to any role she undertakes.

Naomi Watts does her standard good job as the neighbour who knows much more than she lets on. Honorable mentions go to Elias Koteas and Martin Csokas as the film’s two “boogie-men.”

the verdict

The film looks brilliant in terms of cinematography and set design. The switching between the “dream house” and its uglier more derelict appearance is done masterfully. There is just enough of a seam to show how the character’s were seeing it.

Plot holes and dangling storyline were not a huge issue. Although this actual plot device has been done before, most notably in Jim Carrey‘s The Number 23. Dream House is, overall, a pleasant surprise and well worth the time spent watching it. I was suitably impressed, despite the film’s troubled beginnings. I’d give it a four out of five stars for entertainment.

the trailer

Michael Smith

United Kingdom

11 September, 2013