Talk about "House of D" here:
Review by: Breanne Derby
Plot Summary
Written, directed, and acted in by David Duchovny, House of D tells the coming-of-age tale of a young boy named Tommy Warshaw (Anton Yelchin) and his life in
New York City. The tale is told from the point of view of grown-up Tom (David Duchovny) as he tells his wife the secrets of his past. Tommy's life is more difficult than the average thirteen-year-old; his father died of cancer and his mother (Tea Leoni) is constantly stressed and working so that she can support her son and keep him attending a fancy school. His best friend is a mentally challenged man named Pappass (Robin Williams) who helps him have fun in spite of the fact that nothing is perfect. Tommy seeks guidance from a mysterious prisoner at the Women's House of Detention known only to him as "Lady" (Erykah Badu). She calls out her worldly advice to him from behind her bars and he follows it, for better or for worse.
Review
This film really attempts to tug at the heart-strings of the viewer. Tommy lives potentially the most pathetic life possible, and everything bad that could possibly happen to him does. He is a very endearing character in his cluelessness when it comes to dealing with girls, his attempts to take care of his mother, and his unwavering defense of Pappass.
Robin Williams' portrayal of a mentally challenged person was an interesting one. The acting done by Williams itself was not bad, but some of the things that Pappass was supposed to have done were a bit unbelievable. It is understandable that there are many different varieties of mental disorders, but the severity of Pappass's infliction seemed to change throughout the film.
One large flaw in this film is that so much of it is left unexplained. Grown Tom seems to have all kinds of "issues" with his family and being a good father, and his childhood is blamed for these issues, but it doesn't make sense that his childhood wouldn't bother him in the beginning of his relationship with his wife and son and then come up later. It is implied that his past is what screwed him up so badly to cause him to be a stranger in his own house, but the faulty logic lies in his closeness to his wife and son in the first place. There doesn't seem to be a reason for him to keep his past a secret from his wife, a woman he has known for at least thirteen years.
The title of the film is based on the House of Detention where Tommy received advice from "Lady." "House of D" is also because of the transition that the House of Detention takes throughout the course of the film and its relation to the transition Tommy/Tom makes throughout the film. In the end the House of Detention has been torn down to make room for a garden, and that is what really happened to the building that used to stand in the spot. There was an alternate ending included that told more about the House of Detention and why it was replaced, and personally I enjoyed some of the real history to go along with the story and I wish that at least some of the information and pictures of the actual building had been included.
Other than the extended ending including the information about the Women's House of Detention that used to actually exist, the special features weren't really anything special. There were some deleted scenes and an incredibly long, excruciatingly boring questionnaire with the man of the movie, Mr. David Duchovny himself.
