The House of Sand and Fog

Directed by Vadim Perelman. 
Screenplay by Vadim Perelman based on the novel by Andre Dubus II

            Ben Kingsley is not just a good actor.  He has the face of a legend.  The tone and features on it contribute to his ability to hide inside a character so well that, even though he is always recognizable as Ben Kingsley because of his face, we forget just what background the actor actually hails from.  Growing up on his movies was confusing.  Was he Indian or British or Jewish or a combination of many things?  It is what now works for Vin Diesel, albeit with far less interest.  While it may seem that Diesel is the character in which he plays, Kingsley’s characters are more seemingly who he is. 

            In The House of Sand and Fog, Ben Kingsley plays Colonel Massoud Amir Behrani, an Iranian immigrant who has, since coming to America, worked day and night in order to buy a home for his family.  He purchases, with cash, a house up for auction by the county and decides that he will turn around and sell it for a hefty profit rather than continue living there. 

            The house was seized by the county from Kathy (Jennifer Connelly) a recovering alcoholic house cleaner who didn’t bother to read her mail regarding a business tax she wasn’t aware she owed.  She hires a lawyer (Frances Fisher) in order to sue those at fault but has no luck.  She befriends and falls in love with a cop (Ron Eldard) who also tries to help her out but he just makes things worse for the both of them. 

            Each character has an agenda which makes sense even if each character has selfishness about him or her.  Behrani wants to live the American dream and take advantage which she grew up in and inherited from her late father, mostly because her mother is coming to visit soon.  The cop, Lester, wants to make Kathy happy because he likes sleeping with her instead of his wife. 

            Writer-director Vadim Perelman seems to think that the portrayal of realistic characters is based on giving them faults.  We do not take any side in the film as an audience, but not because each side has valid points (though they all do and the film is honorable for this position).  Each character is annoying, stupid and/or heartless.  Behrani hits his wife and aggressively puts his hands on Kathy when removing her from his property.  Kathy begins drinking again.  Lester, whose last name is fittingly Burdon, tells of not losing sleep when planting evidence, has no qualms about drinking in front of Kathy, leaves his wife because she’s his best friend instead of a lover and eventually loses his job on the force because of threats against Behrani.  The other characters seem to stop going to work as well, but they may be more conscious decisions.

            Their flaws are thinly laid out and that is the reason they are not realistic.  Also, there is a reason why audiences like to relate or feel for at least one character.  It helps them to follow the story enthusiastically.  By the end of the film, where most films of this type become thrillers, The House of Sand and Fog dishes out the most distended tragedies since the first half of Monster’s Ball.  The thriller route may be more satisfying because it would, hopefully, not think itself as moving as this seems to. 

Kingsley, therefore, becomes the only reason to watch the film.  Unfortunately he is not as exciting as in Sexy Beast, a film which truly was necessary to see just for his performance.  Connelly works in her most desperate eyes since Requiem for a Dream but her character is so disgusting and pathetic that it is not enjoyable to watch.  Eldard balances with Kinglsey as he exhibits one of the worst acting this year and becomes one of the major burdens (pun intended) on the movie as a whole.  He does not portray one single believable moment in his character’s life. 

            There are certainly times when horrible people make for great characters.  Kingsley will forever be memorable as the loud gangster in Sexy Beast.  Recently The Rules of Attraction was great in its depiction of a of unlikable college students who are at least honest with themselves.   Just this year, Kill Bill, American Splendor and Bad Santa showcased a surplus of despicable people, yet so exaggerated and stylish that they become interesting as well.   There is absolutely nothing interesting about watching people ruin their lives in pseudo, melodramatic fashion. 

Gandhi changes his mind about the value of property.