Film Reviews

Dream House

• Rating:
• Director: Jim Sheridan
• Starring: Daniel Craig
• Details: US/91mins 15A

Boasting quite possibly the most spoilorific trailer in cinematic memory, Dream House is a film that comes to us by way of an incredibly chaotic production. Jim Sheridan (no relation) asked to have his name removed from the film after clashes with the studio, and the main cast then refused to do any press for it as a result of said clashes. Simply put, it's all over the place; that could be because of either studio interference or subpar filmmaking - either way it's not worth your time or money.
Daniel Craig's Will and his picture perfect missus (Rachel Weisz) have just purchased a plush new gaff, and Will has quit his high paying job to spend more quality time with his family. Soon after moving into the house they start noticing some strange goings on - ghostly in nature. Discovering some shocking revelations about his own life while investigating the houses previous owner, he begins to question his sanity.
It's a testament to Sheridan's innate ability to direct actors that the performances are by far the best thing about this otherwise nonsensical, overly familiar flick. Plot wise it just doesn't know what it is, and at times is blatantly indecisive about where to go. It's obvious that there was hassle behind the scenes, but messy productions have come out the release end before smelling of roses (Three Kings, Apocalypse Now). Dream House just feels like a collection of scenes with a tenuously slight link, and at times, two different movies.
It's hard not to talk about the film without giving away the major plotpoint that the trailer does, but it'd be fair to compare it to Shutter Island in terms of the character depth it's trying so desperately to convey. And in fairness to Daniel Craig, he's very good at looking pained, but not even his performance can make this shoddy production worthwhile.
Everyone involved with this production will forget about Dream House and move on to other things. It's a waste of a great cast and talented director and a missed opportunity to knock a star heavy genre film out of the park.

Review by Mike Sheridan