House of D

HOUSE OF D (2005) *** Anton Yelchin, Tea Leoni, David Duchovny, Robin Williams, Erykah Badu, Frank Langella, Mark Margolis, Zelda Williams, Olga Sosnovska, Magali Amadei, Harold Cartier, Orlando Jones, Willie Garson, Stephen Spinella.

A Sort Of Homecoming

David Duchovny is one of my favorite contemporary actors and has been stigmatized by his iconic TV role as FBI agent Fox Mulder, believer of the incredibly unbelievable , on the late, great "THE X-FILES" and makes a gallant attempt to shrug off his alter ego for a smaller, more personal project in hopes to be taken as a serious actor capable of being versatile. In this, his big-screen directorial debut he makes a decent effort.

As an American expat artist living in Paris, Tom Warsaw (Duchovny) faces some skeletons in his closet and decides to tell his gorgeous wife Coralie (Amadei) and his son Odell (Cartier) on Odell's birthday, just what they are, in the middle of the night awakening some irate neighbors. Despite the late evening disturbance Tom begins to tell the story of how he grew up in New York City's Greenwich Village and how the age of 13 truly became his coming of age.

Flashback to 1973 and 13 year old Tommy (Yelchin, late of HEARTS IN ATLANTIS) has a lot on his plate: his forthcoming puberty blues is running parallel to the recent death of his father leaving him with his manic-depressive mother (Leoni, Mrs. Duchovny, in a competent turn) whose melancholy emotional roller-coaster and clinging vine addiction to sleeping pills only adds to Tommy's dilemma of not having any role models let alone family but does have a best friend, a mentally retarded janitor named Pappass (Williams wisely not going overboard in a remarkably restrained and decent performance) who works at the Catholic school he attends and assists in an after-school job as a meat delivery boy for a local butcher. When not palling with Pappass Tommy seeks refuge in the titular edifice that was an actual detention house for women on 10th St. and 6th Avenue where the prisoners were able to shout from their barred windows to the passersby and vice versea. It is here where Tommy encounters Lady Bernadette (soulful singer Badu in a surprisingly strong supporting turn) who counsels the young adolescent about the birds and bees when Tommy develops a crush on the young Melissa (Williams' real-life daughter Zelda, a chip off-the-old block, in a very natural film debut) who lives on the Upper East Side.

The storyline is quasi-biographical according to Duchovny – who I met at the opening day screening in New York and is as low-key and self-deprecatingly funny as you would guess from his talk-show appearances and interviews – and has the feel of a latter-day John Cheever novella (Duchovny also penned the screenplay) where the eccentric characters and colorful neighborhoods within neighborhoods come alive in a very vivid naturalistic way (Duchovny truly does capture the era with smartly chosen '70s pop/rock songs as well as the sublime production design by Lester Cohen, Ellen Lutter's period costumes that do not caricature the times and veteran cinematographer Michael Chapman's assuredly pristine cinematography. The acting overall is very good particularly the talented young Yelchin who has a very soft, trembly voice that makes it more intimate to actually LISTEN to what he says and his character may be a bit of a wise-ass but he's not a know-it-all troublemaking jerk like most teens are depicted. Williams balances his sweet-natured Pappass with just enough vulnerability without being too cloying and has some nice moments towards the end of the film. Duchovny has a deft touch especially with his actors – an almost Eastwoodian touch in the sense that he has not rushed his players but let them flesh out their roles, even the smaller ones by such wonderful veteran character actors such as Margolis as Pappass' alcoholic father, Langella as the passive/aggressive priest/instructor and Jones as a flashy pimp. His pacing is a bit rocky with some odd – choices in editing (one sequence after a school dance when Tommy returns home to his angry mother is a tad off) but otherwise is straightforward in his storytelling.

When Tom finishes his story to his family he's encouraged to return home (to give away anymore of the plot would ruin the viewing but let's say it's bittersweet) to rekindle his youth and find out just who he is.

Duchovny should be proud of this labor of love that shows he is a talented artist who has a lot to say and his film-making debut may not be grand but is definitely noteworthy for the next level of being The Artist Formerly Known As Mulder.

If you'd like to see an actor go beyond what's expected in his expression of self, then see this movie. Being that Duchovny not only appears in but wrote "House of d" should lend you to the depth this man carries, far beyond any Mulder personification could have introduced. The movie deals with growing up and the challenges a boy must face beyond the stereotypical expectation of getting laid. This movie challenges the audience to feel safe with being uncomfortable. Robin Williams was wonderful as was the rest of the cast being as honest and true to not only their characters, but to the struggle of being human. I commend David for taking such a risk at being real. Besides that he hasn't lost a beat when it comes to applying his dry wit at exactly the right moment. If you like Upside of Anger or Finding Neverland, this movie is for you.

In his feature debut as both writer and director, Duchovny offers up a heartfelt film filled with well anchored elements of character, humor, ethical dilemmas and choices that pave the roads of our lives.

Strong, well chosen casting with inspiring performances by Anton Yelchin (Tommy), Robin Williams (Pappass) and Erykah Badu (Lady) add to a meaningful story that Duchovny rooted in his childhood neighborhood of New York.

In a world today where the baptism of manhood is often forged with sex, gangs and violence, Duchovny takes us back into an inner battlefield where the true merit of a hero's journey is fought. Within one's self.

I saw it in a screening preview and would be happy to pay to see it again. And this time, I'd bring the teens.

I had been wanting to see this film since I had the chance to see the preview. I must say I enjoyed it. The pacing may have been a bit off, but for what it was, it did an excellent job.

I think my biggest problem with this film is David. Not that it was a bad performance, just that he had a tough job competing with the kid who played the younger version of himself. Everyone gave great performances, even his wife whom I usually don't care for. The movies first half was great, but lacked in the last twenty minutes. Honestly, it felt like it could have gone longer, perhaps a little more in-depth.

Still, good job.

I was fortunate enough to happen upon two free tickets to a sneak preview here in La Jolla. I enjoyed the movie thoroughly. The audience I was a part of was audibly drawn into the film. The plot is completely character-driven, revolving around a very honest 13-year-old. The honesty of this character--a unique portrayal of any boy this age--was portrayed sincerely, and as such the film read as very heartfelt. The sincerity is most profoundly seen in his relationship with a developmentally disabled adult, Pappass (Robin Williams), purely for the sake of companionship and not out of sympathy or having been forced into the friendship. In a time when the phrase "that's so retarded" is so ubiquitously used as a put-down, it was refreshing to see a character created who is not at all fazed by the stigma of befriending someone who is disabled or 30 years older than himself (let alone both). Each character seemed to be written with such empathy that you could be drawn into any one of their stories, if the movie so followed those stories. To those who call this film trite, I argue that this heartfelt empathy makes it unique among mainstream films whose screenplays contain characters so generalized that the actors must create any depth for their characters.

All in all, I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend it to my friends. And to those looking for an excuse to dismiss my 9/10 vote, no I am not a David Duchovny fan. I hardly even saw 3 episodes of the X-Files. I just liked the film. :-)