House of D (2004)

By working through problems stemming from his past, Tom Warshaw, an American artist living in Paris, begins to discover who he really is, and returns to his home to reconcile with his family and friends.

Director:

David Duchovny

Writer:

David Duchovny

Stars:

David Duchovny, Téa Leoni, Robin Williams

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Anton Yelchin	...	Tommy
Robin Williams	...	Pappass
Téa Leoni	...	Mrs. Warshaw
Erykah Badu	...	Lady / Bernadette
David Duchovny	...	Tom Warshaw
Frank Langella	...	Reverend Duncan
Zelda Williams	...	Melissa
Magali Amadei	...	Coralie Warshaw
Olga Sosnovska	...	Simone
Orlando Jones	...	Superfly
Bernie Sheredy	...	Sasha (as Bernard Sheredy)
Stephen Spinella	...	Ticket Seller
Alice Drummond	...	Mrs. Brevoort
Harold Cartier	...	Odell Warshaw
Mark Margolis	...	Mr. Pappass

Storyline

On their son Odell's 13the birthday, graphic artist Tom Warszaw finally confesses to his wife why he fled Greenwich Village, NYC at that age to Paris. As a schoolboy, naturally sensitive, considerate Tommy was best buddy with 'adult' half-wit Pappass, father Duncan's Catholic school's assistant janitor. Smothered by his dependent mother, a dumb orderly, Tommy got 'parental advice' from a women's prison inmate. Together with Pappas, he saves up tips from their butchery delivery rounds. One night, Pappas steals the bike they were saving for. Tommy tries to take the blame, but ends up expelled as if the instigator. Even more tragic consequences follow.

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Plot Keywords:

deception | artist | butchery | catholic school | catholic | 

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Taglines:

See the world a little differently.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sexual and drug references, thematic elements and language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

29 April 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Can dostlar

Filming Locations:

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$6,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$36,371, 17 April 2005, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$371,081, 8 May 2005

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bob Yari Productions, Jeff Skoll Productions, Southpaw Entertainment (I)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Shia LaBeouf was originally cast as Tommy, but was replaced by Anton Yechlin due to a scheduling conflict.

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Goofs

When Tom and Pappas are in the cab heading for the airport in 1973, there are at least two post-2000 cars in the background.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Tom Warshaw: [narrating] My name is Tom Warshaw. I'm an American artist living in Paris. I've lived here for 30 years with a secret nobody knows. My son, Odell, is turning 13 today. And for his birthday, I'm gonna tell him my secret.
Tom Warshaw: I'm gonna tell him, "You know how in old movies when the bad guys want to break into a safe? There's this one guy, the safecracker, who puts his ear up to the lock and listens as he dials the combination, listening for what they call in English, the tumblers. ...
[...]

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Connections

Featured in Building the 'House of D' (2005)

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Soundtracks

Melissa
Written by Gregg Allman, Steve Alaimo
Performed by Erykah Badu, The Allman Brothers Band
Courtesy of Universal Records
Under License from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

A transporting period film with a few problems...

Set mostly in a flashback to 1973 New York City, this is at heart not a coming of age movie but a coming to terms movie. From the opening scenes in Paris, we're set up by a voice-over narrative to expect terrible events which would change a boy's life. And, true to its word, we are delivered a series of disasters, many of which are prefigured in a short-handed kind of way. But it doesn't really matter, because you know where the film is heading, and your reaction to the last 15 minutes coming out of the flashbacks will pretty much determine whether you like this film or not. (Note that the ratings here are split pretty dramatically between very positive and very negative.) The things that are right with the film are good, sometimes very good. At the top of the "good" list is Erykah Badu's outstanding performance as a prisoner in the Women's House of Detention , an urban jail with windows over the street, who offers conversation and advice to the young protagonist. Also, the evocative period setting, which puts to shame a lot of films with many times the budget. Finally, there are a few deft touches of humor in the dialog, particularly in the early scenes of school life. The other performances are a bit more uneven. Anton Yelchin, the younger version of Duchony's character, is often winning and natural, but when real crisis hits, I didn't buy his grief and desperation. Not knowing the Robin Williams role, I cringed a bit when he first appeared on screen, but his performance is for the most part fairly restrained -- at least by Robin Williams' standards. Ducovny and wife Tea Leoni were competent but not compelling. We saw this film at a preview that featured a Q&A with Ducovny afterward. He clearly has affection for the material and, if anything, set out to make an even more modest film, budget-wise, than this. This is potentially pretty dicey plot material and could have veered severely wrong, particularly toward sloppy sentimentality. While I don't think the film entirely escaped this, it's certain a better film than, say, the dreadfully manipulative, "The Notebook". If you're not expecting too much and you can appreciate the 70's period setting, you'll probably enjoy this. If you're expecting a genius writer-director first film out of Ducovny -- you will be disappointed. Bottom line: give Ducovny some space and let's wait for his second film before delivering an real judgment on his career as writer-director.