Plot: What’s it about?
I remember the trailer for “House of Sand and Fog” and thought that it was nothing more than a bloated promo for a movie that was manufactured to win awards, both Academy and others. I have to say that I was wrong. Though the movie did garner a few Oscar nominations (for Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress), it was a very well-told and well-written piece that has elements that tend to stay with you. The screenplay is based on the Best Seller by the same name. Author Andre Debus III wrote the novel a few years back and though it went onto become a success, it wasn’t one of those that had “Hollywood Movie” written all over it. Debus’ wife did send actor Ben Kingsley, pardon me – Sir Ben Kingsley, a copy of the book when it came out though, and the rest is, well, history. More importantly, this was to be Jennifer Connelly’s follow-up to her Academy Award Winning performance in “A Beautiful Mind”. She had starred in “Hulk” last Summer, but to truly be considered a serious actress, more dramas must follow. A great script, a rather unknown director, two great leads – what more do we need?
The story isn’t easy to tell, there aren’t many redeeming qualities in these people. They’re stubborn and set in their ways, but each side has a legitimate argument and it’s the central part of the plot. Kathy (Jennifer Connelly) is a recovering alcoholic. Her mother calls from the East Coast to check on her, her brother is successful and more of her Mother’s favorite and Kathy’s husband has left her nearly a year ago. She lives in a house near the Pacific Ocean that was left to her and her brother after her father died. She sleeps late, the place is a mess and it seems she’s gone a couple of months without even opening her mail. This adds to her shock and surprise when she is evicted and the house is put up for auction. Conversely, Behrani (Ben Kingsley) and his family have moved from Iran where he was a decorated officer in the military. They have been living in an overpriced apartment that has cost them some 140,000 so far and he wishes to start his family over. He works two jobs, one on the highway and the other as a gas station attendant, to keep his family happy. To his delight, he sees that the house is up for auction and gets it for a song. His plan? Fix up the house and sell it at a markup, thereby on his way to getting his family in the lap of luxury once again.
This is easier said than done, however. Behrani is well on his way to fixing up the place when Kathy starts showing up. She’s grown up in the house and can’t accept that it’s in the possession of some other family. She’s gone from staying in a roadside motel to her car and though she professes to have a job, we never actually see her work. She’s met a police officer, the one who is responsible for evicting her no less, and they start to have an affair. He’s got a wife and two kids, but isn’t happy with them. Misusing his power as a man of the law, they both try – unsuccessfully – to get the new family out of the house. I hesitate to give much more away, but let it be said that there is definitely more to this movie than meets the eye. The performances by Connelly and Kingsley are very understated (even though Kingsley and his on-screen wife, Shohreh Aghdashloo, were nominated for Oscars) and the heart of the movie. Those looking for an upbeat movie might want to look somewhere else, but the movie has heart. This proves, once again, that Kingsley is a superb actor and that Connelly’s more recent work is no fluke – she can act. Recommended.
Video: How does it look?
The 1.85:1 anamorphic transfer is off an on throughout. The movie takes place in San Fransisco, and with the title featuring the word “fog” in it; we can expect that we might see some. We do. The transfer is very saturated and though this results in a lot of grain in some scenes, it also gives it a very unique look and feel. Flesh tones appear to be a bit on the bright side, though some parts feature a very pasty-looking Jennifer Connelly. For a movie that’s new to DVD, this doesn’t look as good as some. Many dark spots do occur and though the overall mood of the movie more than reflects the transfer, it’s not to be confused with being “bad”. On the whole, I was a bit disappointed as Dreamworks usually does their titles right, but it’s not nearly as bad as I make it out to be.
Audio: How does it sound?
Most Dreamworks titles are equipped with dual DTS and Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks. This isn’t the case here. The Dolby Digital 5.1 track is actually very robust. I was impressed at how much of it relied on LFE. This isn’t one to shake the room, so to speak; but it does have instances that left me impressed. Dialogue is very clean and though there is some Iranian dialogue (with subtitles), it sounds fine. The surrounds offer an unexpected ambiance to the track as well. In one scene a dog is barking and I had to pause the movie because I thought it was coming from outside my own window. When that happens, you know the track has done its job! Not too many effects got my attention, but the entire track as a whole was pretty impressive; certainly more than I was expecting. A good job here.
Supplements: What are the extras?
Though this isn’t bursting with features, it does contain enough for us to be satisfied. First up is a director’s commentary with Vadim Perelman, Andre Dubus III and actor Ben Kingsley. This isn’t the most engaging commentary, to be sure, but the three offer up some pretty good information. When you have the author of the book, the director and an Academy Award winning actor; how dull could it be? There are also some deleted scenes shown in anamorphic widescreen and available with or without director’s commentary. There is one that could be considered an alternate ending, but the rest don’t really add that much to the movie and I can see why they were left out of the final cut. Shohreh Aghdashloo’s screen tests were shown as were some Production Notes and Cast Bios. There is the obligatory “Making of…” featurette, but this is pretty interesting as it shows the transgression from book to movie and has extensive interviews with the author and director. A photo gallery is included, but oddly enough, the trailer is not. In any case, fans of the movie will be more than happy with the final result and the movie might even find new life on DVD.
