On the whole, this is a fairly predictable suspense/thriller with the expected twists and turns thrown in to try to throw the viewer off and keep us guessing, but in reality there was really only one plot point that I was really guessing about (revolving around the estate lawyer and where and to whom his loyalties really were) and that particular plot point wasn't really at the heart of the story. The movie introduces Ruby (Leelee Sobieski) as a bit of a troubled kid, whose troubles become much more complicated when her parents are killed in a car accident, and she and her brother are sent to live with the Glass family - friends of their parents (played by Stellan Skarsgard and Diane Lane.) And, yes, the Glasses live in a house that seems to have a lot of glass - too cute by a longshot.
The suspense is around the Glasses. What are they up to? They haven't been especially close to Ruby's parents in recent years, and there's a certain creepiness to them (and especially to Skarsgard's Terry) right from the start. That builds to the point where the Glasses become downright dangerous to the kids. However, there really isn't much mystery about what the Glasses want. (It's revealed fairly quickly that the kids have a large trust fund and that Terry needs money to pay off a loanshark he's in trouble with.) So there's no real suspense around motive, and you pretty much know that although it's going to be a rough ride the kids are going to end up OK (because they always do in this kind of movie.) So the story isn't really that compelling. The performances (mostly from Sobieski, Skarsgard and Lane) are decent, but I didn't think anyone in the cast was truly outstanding.
Two things worked really well in the movie. Director Daniel Sackheim did a good job of gradually turning the Glasses from just a creepy couple into a dangerous couple. (At first, Terry's interest in the 16 year old Ruby was truly creepy - it seemed physical more than financial, a suggestion that was let go of fairly quickly in favour of the financial motive.) The other thing that worked well was the setting in the house. Yes, the play on words was a bit too cute, but the big house with its somewhat confusing design and all sorts of windows both inside and outside so that the characters (and the viewer) could often catch a glimpse of what was going on was effective. But, still, a suspense/thriller that's almost entirely predictable and that therefore has no real "edge of your seat" moments can't be considered truly good. (5/10)
The suspense is around the Glasses. What are they up to? They haven't been especially close to Ruby's parents in recent years, and there's a certain creepiness to them (and especially to Skarsgard's Terry) right from the start. That builds to the point where the Glasses become downright dangerous to the kids. However, there really isn't much mystery about what the Glasses want. (It's revealed fairly quickly that the kids have a large trust fund and that Terry needs money to pay off a loanshark he's in trouble with.) So there's no real suspense around motive, and you pretty much know that although it's going to be a rough ride the kids are going to end up OK (because they always do in this kind of movie.) So the story isn't really that compelling. The performances (mostly from Sobieski, Skarsgard and Lane) are decent, but I didn't think anyone in the cast was truly outstanding.
Two things worked really well in the movie. Director Daniel Sackheim did a good job of gradually turning the Glasses from just a creepy couple into a dangerous couple. (At first, Terry's interest in the 16 year old Ruby was truly creepy - it seemed physical more than financial, a suggestion that was let go of fairly quickly in favour of the financial motive.) The other thing that worked well was the setting in the house. Yes, the play on words was a bit too cute, but the big house with its somewhat confusing design and all sorts of windows both inside and outside so that the characters (and the viewer) could often catch a glimpse of what was going on was effective. But, still, a suspense/thriller that's almost entirely predictable and that therefore has no real "edge of your seat" moments can't be considered truly good. (5/10)