House of D is a bittersweet, moving story of an American expatriate's painful decision to come to terms with the childhood he fled in early 1970s New York City. David Duchovny wrote and directed this comedy-drama; he also stars as the adult version of the film's hero, Tom Warshaw, an illustrator who has spent most of his life in Paris and decides—on the occasion of his son's birthday—to finally reveal long-withheld facts about his past.
The bulk of the story, told in flashback, portrays 13-year-old Tom (Anton Yelchin) as a quick-witted prince of his neighborhood, a delivery boy who knows every eccentric on his bicycle route and a Catholic school kid fond of playing pranks on his clueless French teacher and soulful principal (Frank Langella). His best friend is the school's mildly retarded, 41-year-old janitor, Pappas (Robin Williams), and his advisor on matters of the heart is Lady (Erykah Badu), a prison inmate whom the fatherless Tom (or Tommy, as he's called in 1973) can neither see nor touch. Tommy's vivacity is an asset at home, where his mother (Tea Leoni), a grieving widow with a mounting addiction to pills, is slipping away from her son's ability to help. Duchovny's screenplay sometimes borders on the precious: A number of scenes are enamored with their own boldness and originality, as if Duchovny has been squirreling away lots of colorfully expressive storytelling details for years, and unloaded them here. But that flaw all but disappears in the glow of House of D's emotional resonance and honesty, not to mention several exceptional performances. Among these is Zelda Williams's work as Tommy's sage-beyond-her-years girlfriend, Melissa, whose name offers a suitable excuse to work a rather lovely Allman Brothers song into the soundtrack. --Tom Keogh
(20 votes)
2.
In his directorial debut, David Duchovny delivers a classic coming-of-age tale. To reconcile with his 13-year-old son and estranged wife, artist Tom Warshaw (Duchovny) revisits the life changing events of his own adolescence in New York City in 1973, when his best friends were Pappass (Robin Williams), a mentally challenged janitor, and Lady (Erykah Badu), a truth-dispensing detainee in the East Village's legendary Women's House of Detention. Filled with laugh-out-load moments as well as poignancy, House Of D is a warmhearted and wise film.
(20 votes)
3.
A comical and touching portrait of a boy’s coming of age in 1970s Greenwich Village, Lions Gate Films’ HOUSE OF D is the feature film writing and directing debut of actor David Duchovny, and stars Anton Yelchin, Téa Leoni, David Duchovny, Robin Williams, Erykah Badu and Frank Langella.
The year is 1973, and thirteen-year-old Tommy Warshaw (Anton Yelchin) is on the brink of becoming a man. While his bereaved single mother (Téa Leoni) continues to mourn the death of his father, Tommy escapes his own grief by causing trouble at school and making afternoon meat deliveries with his best friend Pappas (Robin Williams), a slow-witted janitor. Hoping to win the heart of Melissa (Zelda Williams), a precocious uptown girl, Tommy seeks advice and guidance from Lady (Erykah Badu), a prostitute incarcerated in the infamous Greenwich Village Women’s House of Detention. But just as Tommy enjoys his first taste of love, he is faced with an unexpected tragedy that will radically alter the course of his life – and compel the adult Tom Warshaw (David Duchovny), thirty years later, to revisit his unfinished past…
Vividly capturing the spirit of youth in all its giddiness and intensity, HOUSE OF D examines with humor and pathos the harrowing journey every young boy must take into adulthood. Sensitively directed and bolstered by affectionate portrayals from a talented cast, it is a winning, hopeful story about overcoming loss and coming to terms with one’s past.
(20 votes)
Mooviees.com is not the official site for this film.
All editorial views and opinions expressed here are for entertainment purposes only.
Movie Database
In Theaters
