Other Titles • Life as a House • Das Haus am Meer (2002)
Synopses for Life as a House (2001)
1.
Architect George Monroe ( Kevin Kline) has had a lifelong ambition to achieve one of the great American Dreams: to build his own home, a refuge set on a cliff at the edge of the sea. But it's a dream that George has put off again and again while he's sunk lower and lower — ending up divorced, overworked and estranged not only from friends and family, but from himself.
Now George has hit rock bottom and there's nowhere left to go . . . except out onto the edge. At first, his plans seem wild-eyed and crazy. His cul-de-sac neighbors despise his sagging, dilapidated shack. His teen-aged son (Hayden Christensen) would rather stare into space and pop pills than raise a finger to help him. His ex-wife (Kristin Scott Thomas), who once shared his house and his dream, is now emotionally distant from him. Local city officials want to sabotage his plans. It seems there is no one left with any faith in him.
But George is determined to build this house — even if it means refurbishing his entire life. He begins the project alone, but soon attracts a disparate group of people — from the next-door neighbor's sexy young daughter to his ex-wife's kids from a new marriage — to his scheme. What begins as a way for George to redeem his own bruised dreams turns into something much bigger than he ever imagined — and something far stronger than just a shelter.
(13 votes)
2.
A respectable tearjerker, Life as a House is a welcome throwback to angst-ridden family dramas like Ordinary People and Terms of Endearment. It falls short of those modern classics, but you'll probably still need Kleenex if you appreciate Kevin Kline's underrated dramatic skills. As the title suggests, Kline's project is a broad metaphor for repairing damaged lives from the foundation up. Playing an architect with terminal cancer, he gives an Oscar®-caliber performance, reaching out to his estranged, nihilistic son (future Star Wars star Hayden Christensen) and ex-wife (Kristin Scott-Thomas) as he wrecks and rebuilds the Malibu cliff-top home that contained his most painful memories. Director Irwin Winkler's flair with actors helps to minimize lapses in a script (by As Good As It Gets scribe Mark Andrus) that occasionally borders on maudlin. Overall, this is a fine reminder that Hollywood hasn't lost its soul to action and special effects. --Jeff Shannon
(3 votes)
3.
At 45, architect George Monroe (Kevin Kline) has lost sight of his dreams. Living in an inherited shack he had planned on rebuilding years ago, he sits high atop the Southern California coast without stopping to enjoy the view. Unfulfilled and miserable at his job, he works tirelessly while losing his grip on his happiness and his estranged family: ex-wife Robin (Kristen Scott Thomas) and maladjusted son Sam (Hayden Christensen). But, in one day, the course of George's life changes forever. He is fired from his job and diagnosed with a terminal illness. Given only four months to live, George vows to accomplish his lifelong dream of building his dream house. He recruits his son's begrudging help for the summer. Over the course of the next few months, George attempts to mend his long-suffering relationship with the brooding and intense 16-year-old as they tear down the ramshackle shack and rebuild a monument to his dreams. While they work, the neighborhood watches in awe. The much maligned eyesore is transformed. Mary Steenburgen costars as next-door neighbor Colleen who engages in some free-spirited activities of her own while her daughter Alyssa (Jena Malone) helps to brighten Sam's summer. Finally, it is Robin who begins to see a change in George and feels herself drawn back into the life of her longtime ex. Together Robin and Sam help George fulfill his goal as he rebuilds his house (and his life) before it is too late. Kevin Kline delivers a fine-tuned performance that embodies an impressive range of emotion fueled by the witty and ultimately moving script from AS GOOD AS IT GETS screenwriter Mark Andrus.
4.
"An excellent movie!" -Gene Shalit, The Today Show
Academy Award®-winner Kevin Kline stars in this heartfelt and humorous tale of a man who decides to tear down his house and winds up rebuilding the world around him. Kristin Scott Thomas (The English Patient), Hayden Christensen (Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones), Jena Malone (Stepmom) and Mary Steenburgen (Nixon, What's Eating Gilbert Grape) also star in this critically acclaimed tale of romance, redemption and renovation.
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