La maison de rêve

Am I the only one that really liked this movie? Am I the only one that thought it was insanely clever, with a sick double-twist ending? Maybe not, but from the other reviews it seems like I'm one of the few! I agree with the other review - I watched this because I thought it was a horror movie, and it is much more of a psychological creepy awesome movie. But it's good, enough said.

Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz are great, enough said.

Written really well, and directed well. Once you think 'ah, nice, cliché, I see the ending' - nope! Give it a shot, it's a really great movie. I feel like with a few modifications it could've been even better, on par with The Sixth Sense, but it was still great. I'd watch it again.

The previews and commercials for Dream House led one to believe it was a horror film, it is not, not at all. I think that is where a lot of the disappointment is coming from. It is a pretty good thriller, once you get used to the fact that that is what you are watching. The storyline, basically that horrible things have happened and we the audience have to figure it out along with the main character, is not the tired thriller standard, or at least the details are different enough to not seem tired. It's actually intriguing and the answer to the mystery is not obvious miles out, even if the climax sort of is. The acting is really quite good too. People who like mystery thrillers should enjoy the film, fans of scary movies will mostly not like it.

In New York, the successful editor Will Atenton (Daniel Craig) quits his job in the GPH Publishers to move to the suburb New Ashford and dedicate more time to his beloved wife Libby (Rachel Weisz) and his daughters Trish (Taylor Geare) and DeeDee (Claire Geare) and to start writing a novel.

The family is frightened by a stranger watching them through the window and Will decides to investigate and finds teenagers in a satanic cult in his basement. Sooner he discovers that the family man Peter Ward killed his wife and his two daughters in that house five years ago. Will goes to the police but the officers do not give attention to him. He also learns that Peter Ward spent five years in the Greenhaven Psychiatric Hospital but was recently discharged.

Will tries to get more information about the murder with his neighbor on the other side of the street, the divorced Ann Patterson (Naomi Watts), but she refuses to give any information to him. Will decides to go to Greenhaven to get information about Peter Ward and he discloses a dark secret about the former intern that will affect his life in his dream house.

"Dream House" is a good mystery that deserved a better screenplay. The story has a great potential and a surprising plot point but does not develop well important characters and situations after the revelation of the mystery. Usually this type of twist happens in the end, like in "The Others", or "Ghost", or "Identity", or "The Sixty Sense". In "Dream House', the mystery is disclosed too early and the last twist is very weak and predictable. But anyway I liked this film.

Daniel Craig is one of my favorite contemporary actors and Rachel Weisz is impressively gorgeous. Naomi Watts is effective, as usual, and the relationship of Ann with her husband deserved a better development. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "A Casa dos Sonhos" ("The Dream House")

Note: On 31 March 2012, I saw this film again on Blu-Ray.

Editor and author Will Atenton (Daniel Craig) quits a high power job in Manhattan to relocate with his wife, Libby (Rachel Weisz), and two girls to a quaint New England town. However, as they settle into their new life, they discover that their house was the murder scene of a mother and her two children. Will tries to befriend his neighbour Ann Patterson (Naomi Watts) and find out from her what happened but she is not too eager to talk.

Meanwhile, Will's younger daughter starts seeing someone lurking outside the window at night. As Will pieces together the haunting puzzle, he must find out who murdered the family in his dream house before the culprit returns to kill again.

"Dream House" is not a suspense thriller that will jolt you with sudden loud music and cheap scares. Instead, it plays games with your mind, keeping you guessing about what's happening and making you sort out the plot yourself. Now, if you like your thrillers done this way, then go for it. If not, this one is going to be a nightmare...

Director Jim Sheridan's plot build-up is almost by-the-book and he makes no apology for it. The opening scenes show Will as a devoted father and loving husband. At first, his daughter's visions of a shadowy figure are dismissed quietly, but when Will gets physical evidence of someone lurking around, our curiosity heightens. Sheridan, who gave us "My Left Foot" and "In The Name of The Father", is not delivering this thriller to his audience in a platter. He just dishes out the cards and lets his audience sort them out - at least until the closing sequences.

At first, it feels rather weird to see beefcake Craig as a domesticated guy. However, there is a good chemistry between he and Weisz who also lends a loving and tender touch to the proceedings. The kids, played by Claire and Taylor Geare, are also convincing and adorable. It would have been great to see more of Naomi Watts but her role is rather limited - and she acquits herself professionally. Fans of Rachel G. Fox, the Scarvo girl in TV's Desperate Housewives, will find her in a cameo as Ann's daughter Chloe. All in all, a thriller for the thinking viewer.

For the longest time I sort of refused to watch this, because I had heard that the theatrical release was cut to receive a PG13 rating ... so I was waiting for an uncut release on disc or streaming platform now. But this isn't or wasn't succesful enough to make anyone think about an "uncut" release.

Also now that I have watched it ... I don't think a couple of extra seconds of "violence" (the reason this was initially getting an R rating) would not have swayed my opinion in any direction ... still it would have been nice. Having said all that, the quite buff Daniel Craig (you will see him shirtless - steady ladies and fellas who are into this) plays the main role. And while it may feel a bit like a mystery, anyone who has seen a few thrillers will not be too surprised where the movie will take us.

Having said all that, a lot of suspension of disbelief has to be done ... for you to enjoy the movie. Because even while a many years long gap is somewhat explained .. it is not really sufficient to make sense ... anyway, you'll know once you watch and actually think about it ... if you don't think about it, don't worry! Stellar cast and an intriguing story make this more than worthwhile ...