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The Story
Ruby (Leelee Sobieski) is a carefree 16-year old
"valley girl" who takes her parents for granted. Together
with her 11-year old brother Rhett, they are loved and well cared for by
their loving parents. One day, Ruby returns home from an evening out
with her girlfriends to discover that her parents died in a tragic car
accident. As if the untimely death of their parents wasn't enough of
a shock to them, they have to move in with the Glasses, friends and former
neighbors of the family who they haven't seen in ages. The changes in
home life and school life become a bit much for Ruby, while Rhett buries
himself in the new video games that the Glasses bought for him.
Things immediately begin to get strange for Ruby.
Among other things, she accidentally discovers that the Glasses may somehow
be involved with her parents' untimely death. As she investigates
further, she finds more suspicious circumstances. When she reaches out
for help, she doesn't know who she can trust. The audience can't help
but feel for the children, as they desperately seek help.
While Leelee Sobieski does a fine job in the lead role,
the script and the film ultimately lacks coherence and development to
make this movie work. There is much potential in the general
storyline, but the reality is that the movie could have been a lot more
polished and cohesive.
The Extras
"The Glass House" DVD comes with the following bonus features:
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Audio commentary by director and writer
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Deleted scene with optional director and writer
commentary: only one deleted scene entitled "Morning Funeral"
showing the shock and grief suffered by the Ruby and Rhett. I
think this deleted scene should have been cut into the final film.
It's one fine piece of acting by Leelee Sobieski.
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Filmographies: for cast and crew
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Exclusive filmmaker interviews: buried in the
Filmography entries is are exclusive cast and filmmaker interviews where
executive producer Neal Moritz, and cast members Lee Sobieski, Diane
Lane, and Stellan Skarsgard talk about their characters.
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Theatrical trailers
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Production notes (2 pages)
It's not a bad set of bonus features for a standard DVD
release. But it's nothing to rave about either.
Video & Audio
The image quality of this anamorphic
widescreen DVD is excellent. The colors are accurate and
saturated, while shadow detail is very good during the many night-time
and dimly lit scenes. Also included is a full
frame version of the movie, on the other side of the disc, for consumers
who prefer to see their entire 4:3 aspect ratio TV screen filled. With
both versions on the same DVD, Columbia-TriStar is smartly catering to both
the widescreen enthusiasts and most "everyday consumers" who
prefer the full frame version. Having choices is generally a good
thing.
The Dolby
Digital 5.1 soundtrack is well balanced, though with relatively conservative use of the surround
channels.
The dialogue comes across crystal clear and is easy to understand. The
nicely done soundtrack greatly enhances the thrill of watching this movie.
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United We Stand
