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Jennifer Connelly as Kathy (Photo: Dreamworks)

HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG
Directed by: Vadim Perelman.
Produced by: Michael London & Vadim Perelman.
Written by: Vadim Perelman & Shawn Lawrence Otto, based on the novel by Andre Dubus III.
Director of Photography: Roger Deakins.
Edited by: Lisa Zeno Churgin.
Music by: James Horner.
Released by: Dreamworks.
Country of Origin: USA. 126 min. Rated: R.
With: Jennifer Connelly, Ben Kingsley, Ron Eldard & Shohreh Aghdashloo.

Dumped, divorced, and depressed, Kathy (Jennifer Connelly) is wakened from her reclusive stupor when she receives notice she will be evicted from the house she inherited from her father. Iranian immigrant Behrani (Ben Kingsley) snaps up the property at a bargain and plans to sell it at a large profit. With this money, he hopes to give his aristocratic wife the life she had been accustomed to in Iran. The film heavy-handedly parallels Kathy and Behrani’s lives: homeless, she washes herself in a restroom, while he also grooms himself in a public bathroom before entering his upscale apartment building he can ill afford. They even make whoopee at the same time. A cop, Lester (Ron Eldard), who had served Kathy the eviction notice, reenters her life, offering to help her reclaim her home. She takes refuge in a cabin with him, and soon he is promising her he will leave his wife and kids. His is the third family that will disintegrate. Together Kathy and Lester take solace in deriding the immigrant family, with Kathy noting that the wife hardly speaks English. Symbolically, the darker the plot becomes, the thicker the surrounding fog.

Eldard has the most difficult role, as the instigator to the film’s tragedy, but his performance lacks the hateful anger or the relish that comes with the power of a gun. But the uniform does make the man - Kingsley is resolutely determined and proud. Connelly hits the right moments emotionally. However, her regality shines through, making her not quite believable as a cleaning woman. And as Kathy and Behrani’s story lines collide, the film takes an unbelievable turn - an Ugly American version of The Desperate Hours. Turning into a twisted pretzel, House of Sand and Fog becomes a melodrama straining to make its point. KT
January 5, 2004

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