Taglines: Seen from a distance, it’s perfect.
Life as a House movie storyline. George Monroe has had a lifelong ambition to achieve one of the great American Dreams: to build his own home, a refuge set on a cliff at the end of the sea. But it’s a dream that George has put off again and again while he’s sunk lower and lower–ending up divorced, overworked and estranged not only from friends and family, but from himself.
Now George has hit rock bottom and there’s nowhere to go… except out onto the edge. His neighbors despise his sagging, dilapidated shack. His teen-aged son would rather stare into space than raise a finger to help him. His ex-wife, who once shared his dream, is now emotionally distant from him.
Local city officials want to sabotage his plans. It seems there is no one left with any faith in him. But George is determined to build this house–even if it means refurbishing his entire life. He begins the project alone, but soon attracts a disparate group of people. What begins as a way for George to redeem his own dreams turns into something much bigger…
Life as a House is a 2001 American drama film produced and directed by Irwin Winkler. The screenplay by Mark Andrus focuses on a man who is anxious to repair his relationship with his ex-wife and teenaged son after he is diagnosed with terminal cancer. The film opened in twenty-nine theaters in the US and grossed $294,056 on its opening weekend. It eventually earned $15,667,270 in the US and $8,236,521 in foreign markets for a total worldwide box office of $23,903,791.
Hayden Christensen was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role and won the National Board of Review Award for Breakthrough Performance by an Actor. Kevin Kline was nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role. The film won the Audience Award for Favorite Feature at Aspen Filmfest.
In Character Building: Inside Life as a House, a bonus feature on the DVD release of the film, director Irwin Winkler confesses he never realized the rekindling love between George and Robin was a key aspect of the script until he saw the emotion displayed by Kevin Kline and Kristin Scott Thomas in their scenes together. Winkler encouraged his cast to improvise moments leading into and following their scripted dialogue, many of which were included in the final film.
In From the Ground Up, another DVD bonus feature, production designer Dennis Washington discusses how he was required to construct an entire street of houses leading to Sam’s house, which was perched on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Palos Verdes, California. The new house was built on another site, then dismantled and transported to the film set as each section was needed. Because the film tracked the progress of the dismantling of the old house and the construction of the new one, it had to be shot in sequence. When the film was completed, the house was dismantled, moved, reconstructed, and enlarged to become a library for the Kenter Canyon Elementary School in Brentwood.
The soundtrack includes “What You Wish For” and “Rainy Day” by Guster, “That’s the Way” by Gob, “Live a Lie” and “Somewhere” by Default, “Sweet Dreams” by Marilyn Manson, “Water” by ohGr, “Rearranged” by Limp Bizkit, “Both Sides Now” by Joni Mitchell, “Gramercy Park” by Deadsy, and “How to Disappear Completely” by Radiohead.
The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and was shown at the Boston Film Festival before going into limited release in the US on October 26, 2001.
Life as a House (2001)
Directed by: Irwin Winkler
Starring: Kevin Kline, Kristin Scott Thomas, Hayden Christensen, Jena Malone, Mike Weinberg, Mary Steenburgen, Sandra Nelson, Sam Robards, Scott Bakula
Screenplay by: Mark Andrus
Production Design by: J. Dennis Washington
Cinematography by: J. Dennis Washington
Costume Design by: Molly Maginnis
Set Decoration by: Denise Pizzini
Art Direction by: Thomas T. Taylor
Art Direction by: Thomas T. Taylor
Makeup Department Tammy Ashmore, Bonita DeHaven
Music by: Mark Isham
MPAA Rating: R for language, sexuality and drug use.
Distributed by: New Line Cinema
Release Date: October 26, 2001
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