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HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG Send This Review to a Friend
The acting is the strongest suit of "House of Sand and Fog," especially by Ben Kingsley in the unsympathetic role of an exiled former Iranian air force officer who is trying to build a new life in the United States and regain some of the money and prestige to which he was accustomed before he became humbled and forced to scrounge for a living as an immigrant. The problem is that the California house he buys at auction with plans to sell it for a handsome profit belonged to a vulnerable young woman from whom it had been seized improperly.
Jennifer Connelly as Kathy, mired in emotional problems, delivers a performance that earns our sympathy. Homeless, she enlists help of a lawyer to get her house back. Kathy also gets help from a deputy sheriff, nicely played by Ron Elard, who falls for her but has a wife and children.
The Iranian, Massoud Amir Behrani, is difficult to sympathize with despite Kingsley's shattering performance. Behrani is obnoxiously authoritarian and treats his subjugated wife Nadi, played with dignity by Shohreh Aghdashloo), despotically. He dotes on his son Esmail (Jonathan Ahdout), but is so determined to make money that when he gets an offer to buy back the house at what he paid so that it can be restored to its rightful owner, he refuses to budge.
The situation is hell-bent for tragedy. I didn't read Andre Dubus III's book on which the film is based, but the movie version, directed by Vadim Prelman and scripted by Perelman and Shawn Otto, tells a story so extreme that credibility is strained. Solid acting and cinematic efforts to provide a special visual and atmospheric aura help but can't get over the far-fetched nature of the tale.
Kingsley gives the sort of performance that wins award nominations, especially when tragedy strikes. But at the core Behrani is a nasty, rigid tyrant. And who knows that he did in Iran under the Shah's regime? A DreamWorks Pictures release.
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