Customer Reviews

House of D

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

David Duchovny does a fantastic job of creating a picture of a boy's childhood(Tom) with an addicted mother who is in need of parenting from her son and who is not capable of being the mother he so desperately needs. The humor of being thirteen and the jokes we have all told are caught in the most appropriate of depictions. This story is a wonderful Bildungsroman that creates a realistic and fun view of Thomas as a young boy becoming a man and growing apart from his retarded friend(Pappas) by becoming an older mental age than Pappas can ever be.

The life journey of Thomas is interesting, sad, funny and heartwarming all at once.

Those who are so critical of Duchovny and this film had expectations that were too lofty for anyone to live up to. I have different expectations when I go the movies. I am not there to give amateur critiques of the directing and script. I am there to watch and hopefully be entertained, and this film does not disappoint. Duchovny is subtly funny bordering on hilarious. The depiction of the thirteen-year-old boy in his private school French class is a scene that I will be laughing about forEVER.

This movie is well worth its price. Great Job David Duchovny!

Having just returned from seeing House of D for the 3rd time, I'm writing this review to share my thoughts on it. Is it Casablanca or It's A Wonderful Life? No, not many movies are, particularly these days. House of D is a small but moving film, beautifully filmed and acted, I maintain. With progressive viewings, I found myself remembering more of my own experiences 'coming of age' which gave me even more admiration for Mr. Duchovny's skill in writing this movie believably. Don't get me wrong, it's a small, independent film. Too bad for Hollywood, because it's sweet, funny, thoughtful and soulful. No car chases, disemboweled bad guys, cynical protagonists or sex. No wonder no big company would touch it!

Anton Yelchin and Tea Leoni portray their characters wonderfully. Robin Williams is believable as only he can be and his daughter, Zelda, is spot on.

I believe Mr. Duchovny's direction is good, and I look forward to bigger endeavors in the future, both in front of and behind the cameras.

Go see it. Decide for yourself. I'm very happy I did, and I think you will be too.

The last few years I've been searching for good movies. I rent quite often, go to the movies occasionally and I am usually disappointed. I wasn't expecting too much with House of D, not having heard much about it prior to my renting it. However, I was pleasantly surprised; I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. So much so, I am considering buying it for my collection, a privilege.

The story was written and directed by David Duchovny. It's about Tom, who is looking back at the life he had as a young boy growing up in New York City during the 1970's. His father is dead, his mother (Tea Leoni) is mixing pain medicine with alcohol and cigarettes and he is trying to deal with adolescence. His best friend is a 40 year old mentally retarded man named Pappas, played by Robin Williams. We watch as Tom struggles to make a move on the girl he has a crush on, manage his rocky home life with part time work and private school. He often gets his advice and guidance from teachers at school, his boss and from a lady he has strangely befriended that is in a detention home. His journey is filled with events take place that are beyond his control and will alter his life forever.

What I look for in a movie: To wrap me up in the story, so that I forget all else going on (I don't want to be thinking about what I'm doing later, or looking at my clock the whole time). To evoke emotion- laughter, tears, frustration etc. To have a bit of a lesson. To really enjoy the characters and story. A few surprises, I don't like cookie-cutter movies. A good conclusion that I feel is satisfying and wraps up the story.

This movie did all of that for me. House of D was written and directed, in my opinion, very well. I found myself caught up in the movie only 5 minutes in. I fell in love with the characters, who I felt were quite unique, even to the point of surprise at times with what they would do. Naturally, this story did touch me; I laughed a few times and felt tears welling up several times. The story itself is one someone can argue- "what was the point?" However, I have found there are rare movies, where maybe the point isn't clear, however, the story it tells is good anyway. This is kind of a coming of age story mixed with a story of hard lessons life throws your way, put together with the story of an adult finally taking a look at his life and making some changes. At the end of the movie, I enjoyed the journey and was happy with where it ended up.

I think a lot of us have had our own hardships. I'm sure most of us have struggled with finding our place in this world, our path in life. That is what this movie is about. It's about finding hope at the end of the day and having the courage to take the journey. I would recommend this movie to anyone who is willing to give a unique movie a chance. Keep in mind, this is drama, not action or adventure.

This story had ecsaped my attention until recently. I rented it, thinking it had to be decent, given the casting. I was pleasantly surprised upon viewing.

The story is relatable and moving. Anton Yelchin gives a stirring performance as a child dealt a difficult hand, struggling to make his own way. Tea Leoni plays very well the role of a distraught, widowed mother who has been left to care for her son. I feel the role of Pappas (played by Robin Williams) could have been slightly more developed, but he turns in a wonderful performance. David Duchovny wrote and directed the movie, as well as acted as the present day version of the main character.

It's not the most engaging movie, but it is interesting. It has its moments of humor, sadness and happiness. Altogether a good effort by Duchovny.

I was looking forward to seeing "House of D," but all that ever came to the Zenith City was the poster for the movie (you would think that if a theater put up a poster for a movie that would be a reasonable assurance the theater would be showing the movie in the future, but you would be wrong). David Duchovny wrote and directed a couple of interesting episodes of "The X-Files" ("The Unnatural" in season six and "Hollywood A.D." for season seven), both of which evinced a wry tongue-in-cheek sense of humor, but for his first theatrical film Duchovny is certainly going for something more poetic in this coming of age film in which his wife plays his mother. Just do not make the mistake of thinking "House of D" is an autobiographical effort or that this is just another coming of age film.

Tom Warshaw (Duchovny) is an American in Paris, an artist who has been hiding out in France and has decided to tell his wife (Magali Amadei) and son (Harold Cartier) the dark secrets of his past life. His son is turning 13 and that was the age when everything changed for young Tom (Anton Yelchin), who in 1973 was living in New York City with his mother, Katherine (Téa Leoni), who has not yet recovered from the death of her husband. Tom is attending a parochial school on scholarship and has made friends with Pappass (Robin Williams), an assistant janitor who is what was called at that time retarded. Even if he really has nothing to shave Tom is becoming a man, and between his mother, his friend, his teacher Reverend Duncan (Frank Langella), and the other boys at school there is nobody to turn to for advice until he "meets" Lady (Erykah Badu).

Lady is an inmate in the Women's House of Detention (to wit, the "House of D") in New York City. Tom cannot see her, but she can use a broken mirror to see him, and from within her prison walls she dolls out advice, all the while waiting for Tom to bring her a dime bag. Such advice is necessary because all of the key relationships in Tom's life are about to reach a moment of crisis, setting off a chain reaction that will result in Tom fleeing to France as things go from bad to worse. Tom has been trying to protect his mother from the depths of her depression, going so far as to sleep under her bed so that if she gets up in the middle of the night he will know and can stop her before she does anything to hurt herself. Katharine is a woman on the edge, and given what he ends up doing it is not surprising that it is young Tom who ends up pushing her over the edge and beyond.

Duchovny shows up with a goatee, but it is really what he is doing behind the camera instead of in front that matters this time around, although you will notice his writing much more than his directing. There are moments in "House of D" where Duchovny is trying too hard, but he is clearly trying to do something beyond the ordinary and that becomes part of the equation in the end. I thought the final shot of Tom under his mother's bed was powerful enough to say that Duchovny comes out ahead by the end of this 2004 film. He is helped greatly by Yelchin's performance and the fact that this is more the story of young Tom than adult Tom, although I swear Yelchin looks more like Ewan McGregor's kid brother than a young David Duchovny. Keep in mind that Duchovny did write the role of the mother for his wife but that she signed out for the gig, which would explain why she never has a really big scene, while Langella is giving only a couple of notes to play. One of the mixed blessings of this film is that the cast is more impressive than the characters.

In that regard having Robin Williams in the cast is a mixed bag. Williams signed on first, so that meant his presence got the film made, which is important, but all too often we are reminded of other things he has done, which takes away from the character Williams is playing in this film. Along with "Robots" that is two movies I have seen this month where I thought having Robin Williams along for the ride ultimately worked against the film.. Anyhow, the most effective relationship ends up being the one between Tom and the Lady he never gets to see when he is a teenager, which simply underscores the importance of the film's title. "House of D" is not another coming of age film, because girls are the least of Tom's problems. Few people are going to relate to the characters and situations in this film, but that will not stop most of them from enjoying the story Duchovny has attempted to craft. At the very least he should be given a chance to see what he can do next.

I'm perplexed by what the intent behind "House of D" was, and even more mystified by how warmly it has been embraced by most Amazon reviewers. I guessing this was conceived as a feel good, coming of age story--but frankly, not a note of it rang true for me. I had wished nothing but the best for David Duchovney's feature. I have been impressed by the "X-Files" episodes he has written and/or directed and personally feel that he is super intelligent with a great wry humor. Critically drubbed upon it's release, I was still intrigued to check out "House of D."

The film strives to be quirky, I suppose. The scenes set in a very idealized Greenwich Village circa 1973 have a few amusing moments, but they are so removed from reality--it's almost unbelievable that we're expected to take it seriously. It's a lovely world where a 12 year old schoolboy and a 41 year old mentally challenged man pal around as best buddies. I know it's meant to be whimsical when the man talks about his private areas (even around 12 year old girls), but it's a little creepy for my taste. Let's just put it on record now, Robin Williams never needs a reason to overact---please, please, please don't let him do mentally challenged again.

It's also a beautiful world where our young protagonist can befriend a wise and helpful lady convict in the local detention center. She wants him to score her drugs, but instead a sweet bond is formed. The scenes between the two of them are especially false as she is talking through a second story window and he is on the street with the nice pimps who don't bother him. It's especially touching as he's yelling all of the private details of his life up at her in front of everyone--isn't it warm and wacky, he even tells her he has small testicles.

The story takes a sudden dramatic turn, as our hero's mother OD's and is brain dead. If you're thinking this might make for touching drama, don't worry. We aren't emotionally invested in her character. I felt bad for Tea Leoni, Duchovney's wife and a talented actress. Here she has a thankless role popping pills, obsessing over brussel sprouts and smoking. We never know her. So our hero runs away to Paris alone.

30 years later, he's grown up to be Duchovney, having successfully lived on the streets in his youth. But even though he has a thirteen year old son of his own--he needs catharsis. So back to New York, and cue heartwarming and thoughtful reunions with the convict and the mentally challenged best buddy.

I'm am thrilled that the film touches an emotional chord with some. But nothing worked in this for me. It came across as so phony and trite. If a movie can stir up genuine feelings in me than it's been successful at something--even if it isn't a great film. But here the characters rang false, the situations rang false, the dialogue rang false--and I'm so sorry, but that's three strikes and my cold, cold heart remains untouched and slightly annoyed that a lot of talent was used to so little effect.

I really enjoyed "House of D". The story is touching, the actors are wonderful, the music really rocks. I have seen this movie 3 times and I wanted to go see it again, but it has been pulled from the theaters around my home. To me this is an injustice to the film. Not everyone has the same opinion of films, or music, etc., but to not give a larger group the opportunity to see this film is not fair. My opinion is that the movie is well made, and the story is very solid. Growing up in the late 60's early 70's, many of the scenes were very reminiscent of my youth (re: the dance). The emotions shown by Anton Yelchin were acted out very well, and Robin Williams had many fine moments as Pappass. All in all, I would recommend this film...see it and form your own opinion.

I just recently watched this movie, and it was so good that I decided to buy it! The characters are wonderful, and some great acting. It is a really nice and sweet story. I think this movie looks into how peoples lives are shaped. I reccomend that you rent or buy this movie today.

I am an independent movie junkie, and have been fortunate enough to be able to attend film festivals in the past. However, I was unable to attend the Tribeca Film Festival for the past two years, but several friends of mine have attended. "House of D" was the one movie that my friends saw at Tribeca, and it had them all talking. There was no middle ground on this one -- either it was "the greatest movie ever", or "a total waste of time and film." (This division of opinion did fall into the "fan of David Duchovny" and "not a fan of David Duchovny" lines.) Their reactions alone was the main reason why I decided to see for myself why there was such a range in the critiques of this movie.

I can say in all honesty that "House of D" certainly wasn't the worst movie that I have ever seen, and, frankly, considering all of the negative reviews it spawned during its release this spring, I was expecting to find it awful. I think it is a good first effort from Mr. Duchovny. I found Anton Yelchin charming, and his protrayal of Tommy very believeable. And I'm a huge fan of Erykah Badu, so I was thrilled to see her performance. As far as the other actors are concerned, I rate their performances as "not great, but not terrible either." There were parts of the movie that I laughed it, and other parts that moved me.

But I can also say in all honesty that I don't believe "House of D" deserves all of the "best movie ever" reviews that have been popping up. There were several holes in the dialog that had me scratching my head in confusion. I understand that there are limitation when doing an independent movie, and that you can't always film all of the scenes you want to film, and you have to cater to the movie studios/backers/distributors, but considering there was a "voice-over" in the movie, why a few additional lines of dialog couldn't have been added to explain some of what I consider the obvious holes in the plot is a mystery. (An American kid living alone in Paris - how did he survive? I know he could speak French, but what about money? Where did he live? And how did he manage to get to Paris in the first place without a passport? And what about his mother's relatives who arrived to take Tommy in after his mother's overdose. Did they even attempt to find out what happened to Tommy? Or did they just say to themselves "Golly, he was here, but now he's gone. Oh well, those things happen." I know these questions can easily fall into the "just take it on faith" category, but I think they could have been solved, as I said, with some additional voice-over dialog.)

I think this film falls into one of those "you either love it or hate it" categories. If you are a David Duchovny fan, I'm sure you are planning on watching this movie anyway, so you aren't bothering with any reviews. If you aren't a David Duchovny fan, you won't be wasting your time or money on this DVD. If you are like me (you know who David Duchovny is, but you can't quote bits of dialog from any X-Files episode), I would suggest that you at least give "House of D" a try. If you aren't confortable in spending money for the DVD, rent it at the video/dvd store.

I would say that "House of D" didn't rock my world, but I'm glad I saw it, and I don't regret spending my money on the DVD. And I think that it was a decent effort on the part of Mr. Duchovny. (At least he wrote a screenplay, and got it on film -- how many people have been able to do that?). Base on this film, I am now more likely to see whatever acting/writing/directing Mr. Duchovny does in the future, especially in the writing/directing areas, to see how much "growth" has taken place.

My wife stumbled upon the House of D at a local video store. Having never heard of it, we were sure it had to be good. How could a movie with Robin Williams and David Duchovny be bad? Well, we weren't let down.

The House of D is a wonderful story of life, showing how despite the trials, the triumphs can be sweet. David Duchovny plays Tommy Warshaw, a boy who has lost his father to cancer and struggles to find his way into manhood as he approaches 13. Tommy flees to Paris, only to turn a complete circle and find his way back home.

Anton Yelchin steals the show as the younger Tommy. Side by side, Anton and Robin Williams are brilliant. Their relationship is incredibly believable and touching. Other wonderful performances are put in by Erykah Badu as 'Lady' Bernadette Odelia Glasser, and Tea Leone as Katherine Warshaw.

I can't recommend this movie enough. The House of D is a movie that will make you laugh and cry, and then warm your heart with a happy ending. It is one of the best movies I have seen all year, and by far one of the most memorable.

Cheers to David Duchovny, and here's hoping that we see many more stories such as this.

Total Score (out of 100) = 89

46 (out of 50). Enjoyment. A rating based on my overall enjoyment of the film.
9 (out of 10). Acting. How good was the acting?
10 (out of 10). Immersion. Did the movie suck me into the story?
9 (out of 10). Intangibles. Special effects. Movie pace. Is the movie forgettable, or something you will talk about and remember for weeks? Years?
10 (out of 10). Must see. Is this movie worth seeing/renting?
5 (out of 10). Must buy. Is this movie a must buy/purchase?