The movie never quite adds up until the big twist ending, and that’s why it’s almost impossible to review without spoiler
alerts along the way…..so let’s take a look at why the movie fails instead of why it keeps you shifting in your seat until the final five minutes when all is revealed. Will Atenton (Daniel Craig) is a loving editor from New York whose just quit his job in order to write his dream novel in his dream house in dreamy Connecticut where he lives with his [real life] dreamy wife, Libby (Rachel Weisz).
Things seem idyllic to the point of nauseam so you know something’s up. Libby parades around in a constant state of worry and that’s when she’s not kissing Daniel Craig. His two little girls (Claire Gera and Rachel Fox) run around the dream house giggling, playing dolls and tea party while always dressed in perfect tutus. And then there’s the neighbor (Naomi Watts) when asked questions by Daniel Craig, only stares at him oddly.
So we’re left to believe he must have murdered the family that lived in the house before he did. And
then we learn he had psychiatric treatment. Immediately two thoughts come to mind…did the realtor neglect to mention
there was a murder in the house? The neighbors, and the “Goth” kids doing rituals in his basement seem to all know that! And with google and such, why didn’t the new owners find this out on their own when perhaps visiting the diner before the purchase? It is afterall, the biggest news in their community. And the killer is still on the loose….hmmmmm…….eye roll.
And then there’s the biggest question….why would a psychiatric ward let Daniel Craig loose even if they have no charges against him? It all seems a bit to fake especially when we notice that Rachel Weisz’s character never interacts with any humans other than her husband. or would you call that a tip off of the plot?
Dublin base, director Jim Sheridan of such highly acclaimed films as In America, In the Name of the Father
and My Left Foot must be having a bit of an Irish crisis like his government and maybe couldn’t get funding.
So this was all he could come up with. Who knows? But we know his dream house is more a nightmare. And so is his movie. One and a half tiaras