I generally dislike Kevin Kline. With the exception of his brilliant performance in A Fish Called Wanda, his presence in a film is usually enough to keep me from watching it. I broke this unwritten rule once to see Wild Wild West, and regretted it.

I was never again tempted by another Kline film. That is, until learned I had the opportunity to scout the talent of the new young actor playing Anakin Skywalker in a little movie called Life As A House. The catch was, I'd have to tolerate Kline for a few hours. Well, Star Wars fanaticism trumped my Kline aversion. And I'm glad it did -- or I might have the wrong impression about Hayden Christensen as an actor. He is able to show much more of his talent in this film then he did in George Lucas's second prequel.

Life As A House is the compelling story of absentee father George Monroe (Kline), who one day learns he is dying from cancer. His work as an architect has been his passion most of his life, and especially so since his wife Robin (Kristen Scott Thomas) left and took their young son Sam (Christensen). Sam's an angst-ridden teenager now, complete with dyed hair and pierced face. His ex-wife has long since remarried a far wealthier man and started a new family.

Sam, an outcast in this new family, has taken to behaving intolerabley, and unbeknownst to his parents, has developed a pill addiction and started turning tricks. No longer able to tolerate Sam, his mother is ready to ship him off to stay with his friends for the summer. That is, until George shows up and announces he'll be taking Sam with him to work on a project: tearing down his dilapidated house and building it anew.

Although the rebuilding of the house is an transparent metaphor, the drama that ensues is by no means shallow thanks to solid storytelling, and fine acting. Kline, Thomas, Christensen and Jena Malone (as the sexually aggressive neighboring girl who falls for Sam) all turn in wonderful performances that make this movie work.

The culmination of the film is, of course, inevitable, but the actors have you hoping, almost pleading, for a cope-out Hollywood ending -- some type of miracle cure or revelation of a misdiagnosis. Bittersweet it may be, but that alone speaks volumes to the fact that Life As A House is an high quality, emotionally impactful drama.

RATING: 4/5 Stars

- Chris Kivlehan