La Prison de verre

THE GLASS HOUSE / (2001) *** (out of four)

By Blake French:

"The Glass House" takes place in a beautiful, luxurious glass mansion complete with swimming pools, expensive artwork, high-tech security systems, and just about everything else. The wealthy occupants, Terry and Erin Glass (Stellan Skarsgard and Diane Lane), become legal guardians of sixteen-year old Rudy (Leelee Sobieski) and eleven-year old Rhett (Trevor Morgan), when the kids' parents die in an automobile accident.

Terry and Erin were the best friends of the children's parents. They welcome their new guests into a world of wealth, glamour, and fun. Soon enough, however, Rudy notices strange quirks about these seemingly friendly folks. Is Terry secretly watching Rudy change her clothes? Is Erin addicted to prescription drugs, or is she a diabetic? Was her parents' death an accident, or a diabolical act of murder? Trust becomes as transparent as the glass surrounding this family.

"The Glass House" opened to mostly negative reviews, and not without probable cause. The setup provides an intriguing, imaginative situation, but everything happens so quickly the film forgets character introduction. First time-feature director Daniel Sackheim helms a hole-laden script by Wesley Strick that creates more plot holes than Swiss cheese. The film derives into involving material, but lacks the focus to play out these plot points.

While Daniel Sackheim and Wesley Strick create a movie that lacks the timeliness and intelligence of a first-rate, edge-of-your-seat thrill ride, "The Glass House" does offer good suspense and a plot that reveals itself with tantalizing sinister hints and increasing tension. It keeps us guessing, even if this diabolical fairy tale is anything but surprising.

Leelee Sobieski has been in a lot of movies lately, and that's not a coincidence. She is a very talented actress, and she carries "The Glass House" through many plot miscalculations. Trevor Morgan, seen in "Jurassic Park 3," adequately supports Sobieski's thorough, convincing performance. The very gifted Diane Lane and Stellan Skarsgard cover their sinister motives with pretentious personalities, but inject a mysterious, menacing undercurrent.

"The Glass House" also provides a fresh, unique outlook on villains. Instead of causing trouble, these characters get themselves into trouble, which eventually makes them dangerous. Innovative, original twists like these are what make this movie worth a look. They say those who live in glass houses should not throw stones, but the villains in "The Glass House" do, and it's only a matter of time before everything shatters and breaks apart. It's quite involving watching these events come about, especially through a character driven story.

I turned this on and immediately started looking for something that would start in a half hour. I did not expect to be interested, but I couldn't stop watching.

Ruby (Leelee Sobieski) and Rhett (Trevor Morgan) lose their parents in a terrible car accident, and the Glasses, Terry (Stellan Skarsgård) and Erin (Diane Lane), take them in. Everything appears normal, Erin is a doctor, and Terry runs a big business, drives a Jag, and they live in a huge house. But everything isn't as it seems or we would have no movie.

Ruby starts to get suspicious about things she sees and hears, and the attempts of Terry to explain them seem to mollify her for a time. However, she finds things that are definitely wrong, and makes plans to escape with her brother.

This is where the thriller begins: car chases, and fights, and death and duplicity. It definitely kept my interest, and I suspect it will keep yours.

Please ignore the bad comments.

THE GLASS HOUSE is an interesting thriller that answers the question: 'What would you do if the only people you could turn to were the enemies?". The cast is great, the direction and design are beautiful, and the music score is very creepy.

It's a very good movie that has wrongfully received poor reviews. Of course it's predictable, but it's really, really enjoyable!

Unfortunately, The Glass House movie doesnt get the recognition it deserves. It is one of the good thriller movies of 2000s. Stellan Skarsgård was the right amount of creepy. The set was perfect for the movie. The director did an amazing job. It had the right amount of jump scares.

THE GLASS HOUSE is the story of Ruby Baker (Leelee Sobieski), who loses her parents in a car accident. Ruby and her brother wind up living with their godparents, Terrence and Erin Glass (Stellan Skarsgard and Diane Lane).

Everything seems fine until Ruby begins noticing some unsettling goings-on. This leads to dark revelations and catastrophic events.

Ms. Sobieski is very good in her harried role. Skarsgard and Lane give solid, slimy performances. This movie is filled with mystery and suspense, with several creepy moments. A great PG-13 rated thriller.

Watch for Bruce Dern and Kathy Baker as a lawyer and a social worker respectively...