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Life as a House

Life as a House

Drama · 2001

When a man is diagnosed with terminal cancer, he takes custody of his misanthropic teenage son, for whom quality time means getting high, engaging in small-time prostitution, and avoiding his father.

Movie details

Life as a House

“Seen from a distance, it's perfect.”

2001 Drama 2h 5m

Critical arithmetic

The consensus, allegedly.

IMDb

7.4 / 10

47.1K votes

Rotten Tomatoes

47 %

Tomatometer

Metacritic

45 / 100

Metascore

TMDB

7.1 / 10

Community rating

External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.

When a man is diagnosed with terminal cancer, he takes custody of his misanthropic teenage son, for whom quality time means getting high, engaging in small-time prostitution, and avoiding his father.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Life as a House?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

House of Sand and Fog

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This Boy's Life

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Kramer vs. Kramer

Kramer vs. Kramer

Drama · 1979

Ted Kramer is a career man for whom his work comes before his family. His wife Joanna cannot take this anymore, so she decides to leave him. Ted is now faced with the tasks of housekeeping and taking care of himself and their young son Billy.

Beautiful Boy

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Drama · 2018

After he and his first wife separate, journalist David Sheff struggles to help their teenage son, who goes from experimenting with drugs to becoming devastatingly addicted to methamphetamine.

James White

James White

Drama · 2015

James White is a troubled twentysomething trying to stay afloat in a frenzied New York City. As he retreats further into a hedonistic lifestyle, his mother's battle with a serious illness faces a series of setbacks that force him to assume more responsibility. With the pressure on him mounting, James must find new reserves of strength or risk imploding completely.

Ben Is Back

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And When Did You Last See Your Father?

And When Did You Last See Your Father?

Drama · 2007

The story of a son's conflicting memories of his dying father.

Palmer

Palmer

Drama · 2021

After 12 years in prison, former high school football star Eddie Palmer returns home to put his life back together—and forms an unlikely bond with Sam, an outcast boy from a troubled home. But Eddie's past threatens to ruin his new life and family.

Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Irwin Winkler

Written by

Mark Andrus

Kevin Kline

Kevin Kline

George Monroe

Hayden Christensen

Hayden Christensen

Sam Monroe

Kristin Scott Thomas

Kristin Scott Thomas

Robin Kimball

Jena Malone

Jena Malone

Alyssa Beck

Mary Steenburgen

Mary Steenburgen

Colleen Beck

Ian Somerhalder

Ian Somerhalder

Josh

Jamey Sheridan

Jamey Sheridan

Peter Kimball

Court is in session

Put Life as a House on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.