I read the book. It was amazing.
I (mistakenly) thought the movie would follow the novel that inspired it.
The House of Sand and Fog is a harrowing tale of how two people are pushed to extremes to obtain ownership of a house that they both believe will be the solution to their problems. Jennifer Connoly is the young, recovering alcoholic and drug addict Kathy Niccolo. Ben Kingsley is the noble and proud Colonel Behrani, fled from Iraq. Shohreh Aghdashloo is Behrani's wife. And everyone else...well, they are alright, I guess.
Sand and Fog is a very well-written, well-acted, well-scored, well-filmed, well-directed, well-designed film with some very good acting and some very good editing and some very good screenwriting. But all that goodness is half the problem.
The film doesn't have the raw, rough power that it should. It emotes; it communicates; it pleases; it questions; but it doesn't do any of that to a notable degree.
The most disappointing part of the film is the stilted story. We get the feeling that we should feel equally for both parties, but we are never given the evidence to support Niccolo's need for the house. All we get is, "My dad gave it to me." We never hear anything else (and, having read the book, there's plenty more to tell).
Thus, the story becomes stilted, and we never feel that Niccolo takes the necessary steps to take back the home that should be hers. She only seems young, naive, ignorant, and angry.
Perhaps this is because Kingsley and Aghdashloo do such a knock-out job as the struggling Iranis. Perhaps it is because the screenwriting seems to have left out many details of Niccolo's history that were included in the book. Who knows?
Ultimately, Sand and Fog is a very good film. But that's all it is. We never feel the raw emotion that we should be feeling. We never feel that Niccolo NEEDS the house. We never feel that need. That need to connect and emote. See it. It's good. Really, it is. Just go read the book after you see it.
I (mistakenly) thought the movie would follow the novel that inspired it.
The House of Sand and Fog is a harrowing tale of how two people are pushed to extremes to obtain ownership of a house that they both believe will be the solution to their problems. Jennifer Connoly is the young, recovering alcoholic and drug addict Kathy Niccolo. Ben Kingsley is the noble and proud Colonel Behrani, fled from Iraq. Shohreh Aghdashloo is Behrani's wife. And everyone else...well, they are alright, I guess.
Sand and Fog is a very well-written, well-acted, well-scored, well-filmed, well-directed, well-designed film with some very good acting and some very good editing and some very good screenwriting. But all that goodness is half the problem.
The film doesn't have the raw, rough power that it should. It emotes; it communicates; it pleases; it questions; but it doesn't do any of that to a notable degree.
The most disappointing part of the film is the stilted story. We get the feeling that we should feel equally for both parties, but we are never given the evidence to support Niccolo's need for the house. All we get is, "My dad gave it to me." We never hear anything else (and, having read the book, there's plenty more to tell).
Thus, the story becomes stilted, and we never feel that Niccolo takes the necessary steps to take back the home that should be hers. She only seems young, naive, ignorant, and angry.
Perhaps this is because Kingsley and Aghdashloo do such a knock-out job as the struggling Iranis. Perhaps it is because the screenwriting seems to have left out many details of Niccolo's history that were included in the book. Who knows?
Ultimately, Sand and Fog is a very good film. But that's all it is. We never feel the raw emotion that we should be feeling. We never feel that Niccolo NEEDS the house. We never feel that need. That need to connect and emote. See it. It's good. Really, it is. Just go read the book after you see it.
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