House of Sand and Fog: Critic Reviews

A vigorous and bracingly acted melodrama spun off from a situation that's pure human-thriller catnip.

Vadim Perelman's impressively self-assured directing debut harvests the terror and grandeur of classical tragedy from the everyday sorrows of contemporary American life.

Ineluctably compelling.

The movie's intense watchability can be traced directly to superb performances by Jennifer Connelly and Ben Kingsley.

For all its histrionics, the movie never earns your sorrow.

Airlessly melodramatic, full of moral brow-furrowing.

A sad, rich story, full of misunderstandings, bad bargains, odd parallels.

A powerful tale of a personal conflict that turns tragic when emotions spin out of control.

This is a movie that has the strength of its convictions, and it's anchored by top-shelf performances that go out on a limb time and again.

Like great fiction, House of Sand and Fog sees into the hearts of its characters, and loves and pities them.

You feel you not only know these people but where they come from.

Remember the name Shohreh Aghdashloo ... she is the soul of this pungent film.

This is an unforgettable portrait of decent, well-meaning, conflicted people moved to frustration, helplessness and grief.

It is powerful, powerful stuff.

It's difficult to imagine that Kingsley could top his blistering performance in Sexy Beast, but here it is.

Gripping, intense and profoundly unsettling, House of Sand and Fog deserves a prime spot at the top of everybody's must-see list.

The casting is well-nigh perfect from top to bottom.

A grim, challenging movie that will amply reward audiences willing to go along with its ride into the dark depths of its characters' souls.

A great film and one of the year's standout dramas.

If this movie isn't quite the contempo-Greek tragedy it wants to be, it's still a powerful, almost unforgettable meditation on fate, cultural collision and the morality of renovating a house that isn't really yours.

An alarmingly resonant piece of work, and there is much in it to brood on. It's also one of the most unpleasant experiences I've had at a film in ages.