Dream House  

Review: written 2013

Dream Cast, Disappointing result

For all the polish on this thriller, something just feels flat about the whole affair. The set up seems not unfamiliar - Daniel Craig is seen leaving his job as editor to spend more time with his wife Rachel Weisz and two kids. However, events turn disturbing as they realise their new 'dream' house has a troubled past, and take an even more disturbing turn as their link to the events unfolding past and present becomes gradually apparent, with the help of neighbour Naomi Watts.

So far so routine, but the tone of the movie makes some radical shifts, mostly signposted fairly obviously early on in the movie, and by a half of the way in, the movie has really shot its bolt and the remainder is pure autopilot. For all the tricksiness of the plot and the highly polished production look, there is something oddly mundane and amateur about the end result. Still, Daniel Craig, Naomi Watts and Rachel Weisz are top talent, so I'm not saying give up on it, just temper your expectations. Muddled tone and lack of creative energy aside, there is a fairly good germ of an idea here and the cast give it a try. Shame the creative decision makers couldn't have had faith that the audiences could take something a little rougher round the edges, and smoothed the whole thing out into bland fayre.