"The Glass House" is a thriller that isn't particularly thrilling. While there is nothing actually wrong with this film, and many things right, it's incomplete and therefore somewhat crippled.
"House" is the story of two children - 16-year-old Ruby Baker (Leelee Sobieski) and her 11-year-old brother, Rhett (Trevor Morgan) - who are orphaned when their parents die in a car accident. Their former neighbors are appointed as guardians and, after agreeing to take the children in, turn out to be less harmless than they seem. The events of the film are straightforward and nowhere near thrilling.
"House" is at times visually extraordinary but never obtrusively so. Much of the story takes place in the guardians' Malibu house, which is annoyingly symbolic in its use of glass and transparency, and while quite beautiful in daylight, achieves a sufficiently sinister note in darkness. Any other significant scenes occur within expensive automobiles or the purposes of both defining the guardians as wealthy, and exploring the heroine's struggle with learning to drive after her parents' accident. Themes also arising in the film, though mostly unimportant to the general plot, include the teenage rebellion, plagiarism, sibling rivalry, sexual abuse and drug use.
"House" does a remarkable job depicting the utter dependence that children have on their parents for all manner of care; the film also shows how pure the parent/child relationship must be by focusing on the pollution brought on by lies and manipulation.
Cast performances are solid throughout with notable quality evidenced by both Sobieski and Stellan Skarsgard (playing Terry Glass, the children's evil guardian). Sobieski succeeds in drawing out her character's somewhat rowdy past, while also creating a believable heroine. Skarsgard plays his part beautifully by creating a pure-at-heart fa
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