Dream House (film)
Encyclopedia
Dream House is a 2011 American thriller film directed by Jim Sheridan
and starring Daniel Craig
, Rachel Weisz
, Naomi Watts
, and Marton Csokas
. It was released on September 30, 2011 in the United States
and Canada
by Universal Pictures
and Morgan Creek Productions
to mostly bad reviews and poor box office numbers.
) is a mental patient who recently left a psychiatric hospital and then a halfway house. Five years earlier, his wife, Libby, (Rachel Weisz
) and daughters Trish and Dee Dee were murdered at their home. During the attack, Peter was shot in the head, and so he has no memories of the murders. Instead, he has created a fantasy world in which his wife and daughters are fine. In his fantasy, he is a successful book publisher named Will Atenton. This is where the movie begins, and the audience is led to believe that Atenton and his family are real, but of course, they are the figments of a mental patient's imagination. Peter moves back to his abandoned old house and lives inside. It is boarded up and unsafe and covered with grafitti, but in Peter's disturbed mind, the house is gorgeous and his wife and kids live there happily.
Peter begins to re-connect with his old neighbors, including Ann Patterson (Naomi Watts
). She recognizes Peter as her old neighbor from five years ago and wonders why he is living in an unfit house. She begins to realize that Peter is still insane and that he is imagining that his dead family is alive in the house. He speaks as if everything is normal, and this alarms Ann.
Within Peter's delusion, Trish and Dee Dee start seeing a man watching the house from the front yard, and Will and Libby find evidence that something has happened to the house's previous owners. Will eventually discovers that, years prior, a woman named Elizabeth and her daughters Beatrice and Katherine were murdered, and her husband, Peter Ward, was the main suspect, but was let off because of lack of evidence. Will starts believing that Peter Ward has returned and is stalking his family, and starts searching for more information about him. He doesn't yet realize that he himself is Peter Ward and that Will does not exist.
Will's research leads him to the psychiatric hospital where Peter Ward was committed after being arrested for murdering his family. There, Will discovers that he is Peter Ward, and created a new identity for himself in order to cope with the grief of his family's death. In turn, the audience learns that everything that has occurred up to this point in the movie was just fantasy. He is informed by the doctors that he claimed he was innocent. He returns to his house, which is actually abandoned and decrepit, and converses with the projections of his wife and daughters, who claim that they believe in his innocence.
Peter eventually becomes closer to Ann and her daughter Chloe, and discovers that they were friends of his family. Ann believes in his innocence and encourages Peter to live a new life in order to heal himself. Peter eventually decides to return to his old house to confront his memories and, with Ann's help, realizes that he did not kill his family. It was a local man named Boyce (Elias Koteas
), who broke into the house and shot Peter's daughters. During the fight, Elizabeth tried to shoot Boyce and accidentally shot Peter, allowing Boyce to recover the handgun and kill her. Peter was then accused of the murder.
Peter and Ann are suddenly attacked by Boyce and Ann's ex, Jack, who reveals that he had hired Boyce to kill Ann so he could get revenge against her for divorcing him. Boyce got into the wrong house and accidentally killed Peter's family. Jack decides to kill Ann and set the house on fire, framing Peter for her murder, and shoots Boyce as punishment for his early failure. As they try to ignite a fire, Peter escapes, overpowers Jack and saves Ann. Boyce douses Jack in gasoline in revenge for being shot, but Jack shoots him in the head before being consumed by the flames.
While Ann and Chloe reunite, Peter confronts the ghosts of his wife and children, who forgive him and say goodbye. Peter escapes, having finally discovered the truth and gained inner peace.
One year later, Peter has returned to New York City and published a book called Dream House using his real name, Peter Ward, about his recent experiences.
The movie then ends.
clashed with Morgan Creek’s James G. Robinson
constantly on the set over the shape of the script and production of the film. Sheridan then tried to take his name off the film after being unhappy with the film and his relationship with Morgan Creek Productions.
Sheridan, Daniel Craig
and Rachel Weisz
disliked the final cut of the film so much that they refused to do press promotion or interviews for it. The trailer cut by Morgan Creek Productions came under fire for revealing the main plot twist of the film.
. It was later considered by Filmtracks.com
reviewer Christian Clemmensen to be one of the only redeeming aspects of the production, stating, "Standing above this unfortunate fray is composer John Debney, who at least did his best to take the assignment seriously enough to provide an impressive orchestral score." The soundtrack was released 11 October 2011 and features fifteen tracks of score at a running time of fifty-six minutes.
reports that 7% of 70 critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 3.7 out of 10. The consensus states: "Dream House is punishingly slow, stuffy and way too obvious to be scary." Metacritic
, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, gives the film a score of 42 based on 8 reviews.
Jim Sheridan
Jim Sheridan is an Irish film director. A six-time Academy Award nominee, Sheridan is perhaps best known for his films My Left Foot, In the Name of the Father, Get Rich or Die Tryin and In America.-Life and career:...
and starring Daniel Craig
Daniel Craig
Daniel Wroughton Craig is an English actor. His early film roles include Elizabeth, The Power of One, A Kid in King Arthur's Court and the television episodes Sharpe's Eagle, Zorro and The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles: Daredevils of the Desert...
, Rachel Weisz
Rachel Weisz
Rachel Hannah Weisz born 7 March 1970)is an English-American film and theatre actress and former fashion model. She started her acting career at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where she co-founded the theatrical group Cambridge Talking Tongues...
, Naomi Watts
Naomi Watts
Naomi Ellen Watts is a British actress. Watts began her career in Australian television, where she appeared in series such as Hey Dad..! , Brides of Christ , and Home and Away . Her film debut was the 1986 drama For Love Alone...
, and Marton Csokas
Marton Csokas
-Early life:Csokas was born in Invercargill, New Zealand. His mother, a nurse, is of Irish and Danish descent; his Hungarian-born father, also named Márton Csókás, worked as a mechanical engineer...
. It was released on September 30, 2011 in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
by Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures
-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...
and Morgan Creek Productions
Morgan Creek Productions
Morgan Creek Productions is an American film studio that has released box-office hits like Young Guns, Dead Ringers, Major League, True Romance, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The King and I, The Crush, and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, and others. The studio was co-founded in 1987 by James G...
to mostly bad reviews and poor box office numbers.
Plot
Peter Ward (Daniel CraigDaniel Craig
Daniel Wroughton Craig is an English actor. His early film roles include Elizabeth, The Power of One, A Kid in King Arthur's Court and the television episodes Sharpe's Eagle, Zorro and The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles: Daredevils of the Desert...
) is a mental patient who recently left a psychiatric hospital and then a halfway house. Five years earlier, his wife, Libby, (Rachel Weisz
Rachel Weisz
Rachel Hannah Weisz born 7 March 1970)is an English-American film and theatre actress and former fashion model. She started her acting career at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where she co-founded the theatrical group Cambridge Talking Tongues...
) and daughters Trish and Dee Dee were murdered at their home. During the attack, Peter was shot in the head, and so he has no memories of the murders. Instead, he has created a fantasy world in which his wife and daughters are fine. In his fantasy, he is a successful book publisher named Will Atenton. This is where the movie begins, and the audience is led to believe that Atenton and his family are real, but of course, they are the figments of a mental patient's imagination. Peter moves back to his abandoned old house and lives inside. It is boarded up and unsafe and covered with grafitti, but in Peter's disturbed mind, the house is gorgeous and his wife and kids live there happily.
Peter begins to re-connect with his old neighbors, including Ann Patterson (Naomi Watts
Naomi Watts
Naomi Ellen Watts is a British actress. Watts began her career in Australian television, where she appeared in series such as Hey Dad..! , Brides of Christ , and Home and Away . Her film debut was the 1986 drama For Love Alone...
). She recognizes Peter as her old neighbor from five years ago and wonders why he is living in an unfit house. She begins to realize that Peter is still insane and that he is imagining that his dead family is alive in the house. He speaks as if everything is normal, and this alarms Ann.
Within Peter's delusion, Trish and Dee Dee start seeing a man watching the house from the front yard, and Will and Libby find evidence that something has happened to the house's previous owners. Will eventually discovers that, years prior, a woman named Elizabeth and her daughters Beatrice and Katherine were murdered, and her husband, Peter Ward, was the main suspect, but was let off because of lack of evidence. Will starts believing that Peter Ward has returned and is stalking his family, and starts searching for more information about him. He doesn't yet realize that he himself is Peter Ward and that Will does not exist.
Will's research leads him to the psychiatric hospital where Peter Ward was committed after being arrested for murdering his family. There, Will discovers that he is Peter Ward, and created a new identity for himself in order to cope with the grief of his family's death. In turn, the audience learns that everything that has occurred up to this point in the movie was just fantasy. He is informed by the doctors that he claimed he was innocent. He returns to his house, which is actually abandoned and decrepit, and converses with the projections of his wife and daughters, who claim that they believe in his innocence.
Peter eventually becomes closer to Ann and her daughter Chloe, and discovers that they were friends of his family. Ann believes in his innocence and encourages Peter to live a new life in order to heal himself. Peter eventually decides to return to his old house to confront his memories and, with Ann's help, realizes that he did not kill his family. It was a local man named Boyce (Elias Koteas
Elias Koteas
Elias Koteas is a Canadian actor of film and television, best known for his roles in The Prophecy, Fallen and the live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles films.-Early life:...
), who broke into the house and shot Peter's daughters. During the fight, Elizabeth tried to shoot Boyce and accidentally shot Peter, allowing Boyce to recover the handgun and kill her. Peter was then accused of the murder.
Peter and Ann are suddenly attacked by Boyce and Ann's ex, Jack, who reveals that he had hired Boyce to kill Ann so he could get revenge against her for divorcing him. Boyce got into the wrong house and accidentally killed Peter's family. Jack decides to kill Ann and set the house on fire, framing Peter for her murder, and shoots Boyce as punishment for his early failure. As they try to ignite a fire, Peter escapes, overpowers Jack and saves Ann. Boyce douses Jack in gasoline in revenge for being shot, but Jack shoots him in the head before being consumed by the flames.
While Ann and Chloe reunite, Peter confronts the ghosts of his wife and children, who forgive him and say goodbye. Peter escapes, having finally discovered the truth and gained inner peace.
One year later, Peter has returned to New York City and published a book called Dream House using his real name, Peter Ward, about his recent experiences.
The movie then ends.
Cast
- Daniel CraigDaniel CraigDaniel Wroughton Craig is an English actor. His early film roles include Elizabeth, The Power of One, A Kid in King Arthur's Court and the television episodes Sharpe's Eagle, Zorro and The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles: Daredevils of the Desert...
as Will Atenton / Peter Ward - Rachel WeiszRachel WeiszRachel Hannah Weisz born 7 March 1970)is an English-American film and theatre actress and former fashion model. She started her acting career at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where she co-founded the theatrical group Cambridge Talking Tongues...
as Libby Atenton / Elizabeth Ward - Naomi WattsNaomi WattsNaomi Ellen Watts is a British actress. Watts began her career in Australian television, where she appeared in series such as Hey Dad..! , Brides of Christ , and Home and Away . Her film debut was the 1986 drama For Love Alone...
as Ann Patterson - Marton CsokasMarton Csokas-Early life:Csokas was born in Invercargill, New Zealand. His mother, a nurse, is of Irish and Danish descent; his Hungarian-born father, also named Márton Csókás, worked as a mechanical engineer...
as Jack Patterson - Claire Geare as Dee Dee Atenton / Katherine Ward
- Taylor GeareTaylor GeareTaylor Grace Geare is an American child actress with many television and film roles, starting in 2008, most notably in the 2009 film Brothers, in the role of Maggie Cahill, the younger daughter of Captain Sam Cahill . She also had a role as Teya in the Natalie Portman segment of New York, I Love You...
as Trish Atenton / Beatrice Ward - Rachel G. Fox as Chloe Patterson
- Mark WilsonMark WilsonMark Wilson may refer to:* Mark Alan Wilson , American murder victim* Mark Wilson , American football offensive tackle* Mark Wilson...
as Dennis Conklin - Jonathan PottsJonathan PottsJonathan Potts is a Canadian actor whose career began in the late 1980s. His earliest work was as the voice of Troy Jeffries in the animated television series Beverly Hills Teens. He is best known for providing the voice of Link from The Legend of Zelda animated series...
as Tony Ferguson - Lynne GriffinLynne GriffinLynne Griffin is a Canadian actress. She is known for her work in film, television and stage.Griffin was born in Toronto, Ontario, the daughter of Kay, an actress, and James Joseph Griffin, a fashion photographer and soccer player. Currently, she is married to fellow actor Sean Gregory Sullivan.-...
as Sadie - Elias KoteasElias KoteasElias Koteas is a Canadian actor of film and television, best known for his roles in The Prophecy, Fallen and the live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles films.-Early life:...
as Hooded Man / Boyce - Gregory Smith as Artie
- Chris OwensChris Owens (actor)Christopher Bradley "Chris" Owens is a Canadian actor.Owens was born in Toronto, the son of Jeannette, a jazz singer, and Garry Owens, a jazz drummer....
as Tom Barrion - Jane AlexanderJane AlexanderJane Alexander is an American actress, author, and former director of the National Endowment for the Arts. Although perhaps best known for playing the female lead in The Great White Hope on both stage and screen, Alexander has played a wide array of roles in both theater and film and has committed...
as Dr. Greeley - Sarah GadonSarah GadonSarah Gadon is a Canadian actress. She acted in David Cronenberg's A Dangerous Method and Cosmopolis. She has guest starred in number of notable television series including Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Dark Oracle, Doc, In a Heartbeat, La Femme Nikita, Life with Derek, and Mutant X...
as Cindi - Marlee Otto as Zara
- Joe PingueJoe PingueJoe Pingue is a Canadian actor.His film credits include The Boondock Saints, Pushing Tin, Repo Men, The Book of Eli and Knockaround Guys....
as Martin - David HubandDavid HubandDavid Huband , also known as Dave Huband, is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his roles on Cinderella Man as Ford Bond and in the films Cube Zero, Dirty Pictures and The Lookout.-Career:...
as Officer Nelson - James CollinsJames Collins-Sports:*James Collins , Welsh footballer, currently playing for Aston Villa*James Collins , Irish footballer, currently playing for Shrewsbury Town*James Collins , NBA basketball player...
as Police Officer
Production
Director Jim SheridanJim Sheridan
Jim Sheridan is an Irish film director. A six-time Academy Award nominee, Sheridan is perhaps best known for his films My Left Foot, In the Name of the Father, Get Rich or Die Tryin and In America.-Life and career:...
clashed with Morgan Creek’s James G. Robinson
James G. Robinson
James G. Robinson is an American film producer. He is chairman and CEO of Morgan Creek Productions, a Los Angeles studio that he founded. His son David C. Robinson is the studio's vice president.-External links:...
constantly on the set over the shape of the script and production of the film. Sheridan then tried to take his name off the film after being unhappy with the film and his relationship with Morgan Creek Productions.
Sheridan, Daniel Craig
Daniel Craig
Daniel Wroughton Craig is an English actor. His early film roles include Elizabeth, The Power of One, A Kid in King Arthur's Court and the television episodes Sharpe's Eagle, Zorro and The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles: Daredevils of the Desert...
and Rachel Weisz
Rachel Weisz
Rachel Hannah Weisz born 7 March 1970)is an English-American film and theatre actress and former fashion model. She started her acting career at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where she co-founded the theatrical group Cambridge Talking Tongues...
disliked the final cut of the film so much that they refused to do press promotion or interviews for it. The trailer cut by Morgan Creek Productions came under fire for revealing the main plot twist of the film.
Soundtrack
The critically acclaimed score to Dream House was composed by John DebneyJohn Debney
John C. Debney is an American film composer. He received an Academy Award nomination for his score for Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ...
. It was later considered by Filmtracks.com
Filmtracks.com
Filmtracks.com is a leading modern film score review website created and maintained out of Missoula, Montana by its sole reviewer, Christian Clemmensen...
reviewer Christian Clemmensen to be one of the only redeeming aspects of the production, stating, "Standing above this unfortunate fray is composer John Debney, who at least did his best to take the assignment seriously enough to provide an impressive orchestral score." The soundtrack was released 11 October 2011 and features fifteen tracks of score at a running time of fifty-six minutes.
- "Dream House" (5:36)
- "Little Girls Die" (2:53)
- "Footprints tn the Snow" (3:17)
- "Peter Searches" (6:00)
- "Night Fever" (1:33)
- "Intruders" (1:41)
- "Libby Sees Graffiti" (2:33)
- "Peter Ward's Room" (2:10)
- "Ghostly Playthings" (3:17)
- "Peter Ward's Story" (3:13)
- "Ghost House" (2:37)
- "Remember Libby" (4:05)
- "Murder Flashback" (3:59)
- "Peter Saves Ann/Redemption" (7:29)
- "Dream House End Credits" (5:55)
Reception
The film was not screened in advance for critics, but has been critically panned. Review aggregator Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
reports that 7% of 70 critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 3.7 out of 10. The consensus states: "Dream House is punishingly slow, stuffy and way too obvious to be scary." Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, gives the film a score of 42 based on 8 reviews.