House of D
Encyclopedia
House of D is 2005 drama film directed by David Duchovny
as his directorial debut in film, having previously directed an episode of The X-Files
for television. The film stars Erykah Badu
, Frank Langella
, Téa Leoni
, Zelda Williams
, Anton Yelchin
, and Robin Williams
. It was screened at the 2004 Tribeca Film Festival
.
, Tom Warshaw (David Duchovny
) is trying to make sense of his troubled adult life by reflecting upon his extraordinary childhood. There is a flashback to Greenwich Village
in 1973, as 13-year-old Tommy (Anton Yelchin
) is on the brink of becoming a man. While his bereaved single mother (Téa Leoni
) mourns the death of his father, Tommy escapes grief by causing trouble at school and making afternoon deliveries with his best friend Pappas (Robin Williams
), a mentally challenged janitor. Following the romantic advice offered by Lady (Erykah Badu
) – incarcerated in the infamous New York Women's House of Detention
for shadowy reasons – Tommy experiences his first taste of love. Yet when an unexpected tragedy radically alters his world, Tommy must take a life-defining choice – one that will compel the adult Tom Warshaw, thirty years later, to confront his unfinished past.
with a consensus calling it "A sincere but inept coming of age story." It has received a composite 6.8/10 score by voters on the Internet Movie Database
. Box Office Mojo gives the reviews a C+. Many critics attribute the poor reception to the fact that Duchovny wrote, directed and edited the movie, which gave it a lack of creative direction and caused it to meander and to lose focus.
36,371 during its opening week. The next week it grossed $7,441. In the film's third week, it grossed $210,826, the most during its run. In the film's fourth and final week, it grossed $30,386, a total of $371,081 worldwide.
David Duchovny
David William Duchovny is an American actor, writer and director. He has won Golden Globe awards for his work as FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder on The X-Files and as Hank Moody on Californication.-Early life:...
as his directorial debut in film, having previously directed an episode of The X-Files
The X-Files
The X-Files is an American science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. The program originally aired from to . The show was a hit for the Fox network, and its characters and slogans became popular culture touchstones in the 1990s...
for television. The film stars Erykah Badu
Erykah Badu
Erica Abi Wright , better known by her stage name Erykah Badu , is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Her work includes elements from R&B, hip hop and jazz. She is best known for her role in the rise of the neo soul sub-genre, and for her eccentric, cerebral musical...
, Frank Langella
Frank Langella
-Early life:Langella, an Italian American, was born in Bayonne, New Jersey, the son of Angelina and Frank A. Langella Sr., a business executive who was the president of the Bayonne Barrel and Drum Company. Langella attended Washington Elementary School and Bayonne High School in Bayonne...
, Téa Leoni
Téa Leoni
Elizabeth Téa Pantaleoni , better known by her stage name Téa Leoni, is an American actress. She has starred in a wide range of films including Jurassic Park III, The Family Man, Deep Impact, Fun with Dick and Jane, Spanglish, Bad Boys, and Ghost Town.-Early life:Leoni was born in New York City...
, Zelda Williams
Zelda Williams
Zelda Rae Williams is an American actress and the daughter of actor and comedian Robin Williams and Marsha Garces. She was named after Princess Zelda of The Legend of Zelda series of video games. Her first big role was that of Melissa Loggia, the main character's teenage love interest in the 2004...
, Anton Yelchin
Anton Yelchin
Anton Viktorovich Yelchin is an American film and television actor. He began performing in the late 1990s, appearing in several television roles, as well as the Hollywood films Along Came a Spider and Hearts in Atlantis...
, and Robin Williams
Robin Williams
Robin McLaurin Williams is an American actor and comedian. Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork and Mindy, and later stand-up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance...
. It was screened at the 2004 Tribeca Film Festival
Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Film Festival is a film festival founded in 2002 by Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro and Craig Hatkoff in a response to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the consequent loss of vitality in the TriBeCa neighborhood in Lower Manhattan.The mission of the festival...
.
Plot
An American artist living a bohemian existence in ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, Tom Warshaw (David Duchovny
David Duchovny
David William Duchovny is an American actor, writer and director. He has won Golden Globe awards for his work as FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder on The X-Files and as Hank Moody on Californication.-Early life:...
) is trying to make sense of his troubled adult life by reflecting upon his extraordinary childhood. There is a flashback to Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
in 1973, as 13-year-old Tommy (Anton Yelchin
Anton Yelchin
Anton Viktorovich Yelchin is an American film and television actor. He began performing in the late 1990s, appearing in several television roles, as well as the Hollywood films Along Came a Spider and Hearts in Atlantis...
) is on the brink of becoming a man. While his bereaved single mother (Téa Leoni
Téa Leoni
Elizabeth Téa Pantaleoni , better known by her stage name Téa Leoni, is an American actress. She has starred in a wide range of films including Jurassic Park III, The Family Man, Deep Impact, Fun with Dick and Jane, Spanglish, Bad Boys, and Ghost Town.-Early life:Leoni was born in New York City...
) mourns the death of his father, Tommy escapes grief by causing trouble at school and making afternoon deliveries with his best friend Pappas (Robin Williams
Robin Williams
Robin McLaurin Williams is an American actor and comedian. Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork and Mindy, and later stand-up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance...
), a mentally challenged janitor. Following the romantic advice offered by Lady (Erykah Badu
Erykah Badu
Erica Abi Wright , better known by her stage name Erykah Badu , is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Her work includes elements from R&B, hip hop and jazz. She is best known for her role in the rise of the neo soul sub-genre, and for her eccentric, cerebral musical...
) – incarcerated in the infamous New York Women's House of Detention
New York Women's House of Detention
The New York Women's House of Detention was a women's prison in New York City which existed from 1932 to 1974.Built on the site of the Jefferson Market Prison that had succeeded the Jefferson Market in Manhattan's Greenwich Village, the New York Women's House of Detention is believed to have been...
for shadowy reasons – Tommy experiences his first taste of love. Yet when an unexpected tragedy radically alters his world, Tommy must take a life-defining choice – one that will compel the adult Tom Warshaw, thirty years later, to confront his unfinished past.
Cast
- David DuchovnyDavid DuchovnyDavid William Duchovny is an American actor, writer and director. He has won Golden Globe awards for his work as FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder on The X-Files and as Hank Moody on Californication.-Early life:...
as Tom Warshaw - Anton YelchinAnton YelchinAnton Viktorovich Yelchin is an American film and television actor. He began performing in the late 1990s, appearing in several television roles, as well as the Hollywood films Along Came a Spider and Hearts in Atlantis...
as Tommy Warshaw - Robin WilliamsRobin WilliamsRobin McLaurin Williams is an American actor and comedian. Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork and Mindy, and later stand-up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance...
as Pappas - Téa LeoniTéa LeoniElizabeth Téa Pantaleoni , better known by her stage name Téa Leoni, is an American actress. She has starred in a wide range of films including Jurassic Park III, The Family Man, Deep Impact, Fun with Dick and Jane, Spanglish, Bad Boys, and Ghost Town.-Early life:Leoni was born in New York City...
as Mrs. Warshaw - Erykah BaduErykah BaduErica Abi Wright , better known by her stage name Erykah Badu , is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Her work includes elements from R&B, hip hop and jazz. She is best known for her role in the rise of the neo soul sub-genre, and for her eccentric, cerebral musical...
as Lady / Bernadette - Frank LangellaFrank Langella-Early life:Langella, an Italian American, was born in Bayonne, New Jersey, the son of Angelina and Frank A. Langella Sr., a business executive who was the president of the Bayonne Barrel and Drum Company. Langella attended Washington Elementary School and Bayonne High School in Bayonne...
as Rev. Duncan - Zelda WilliamsZelda WilliamsZelda Rae Williams is an American actress and the daughter of actor and comedian Robin Williams and Marsha Garces. She was named after Princess Zelda of The Legend of Zelda series of video games. Her first big role was that of Melissa Loggia, the main character's teenage love interest in the 2004...
as Melissa - Orlando JonesOrlando JonesOrlando Jones is an American comedian and film and television actor. He is notable for being one of the original cast members of the sketch comedy series MADtv and for his role as the 7 Up spokesman from 1999-2002.-Early life:...
as Superfly - Willie GarsonWillie GarsonWillie Garson is an American character actor. He has appeared in over 50 movies, usually playing minor roles...
as Ticket Agent
Critical reception
House of D was given a score of 10% on 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...
with a consensus calling it "A sincere but inept coming of age story." It has received a composite 6.8/10 score by voters on the Internet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
. Box Office Mojo gives the reviews a C+. Many critics attribute the poor reception to the fact that Duchovny wrote, directed and edited the movie, which gave it a lack of creative direction and caused it to meander and to lose focus.
Box office
The film was released in theaters on April 15, 2005. It grossed $United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
36,371 during its opening week. The next week it grossed $7,441. In the film's third week, it grossed $210,826, the most during its run. In the film's fourth and final week, it grossed $30,386, a total of $371,081 worldwide.
DVD release
The DVD was released on October 4, 2005. The DVD contains special features, such as commentary with David Duchovny and the cast and a behind-the-scenes featurette called The Making of House of D.Versions in other languages
The title of the Spanish version distributed in:- Latin AmericaLatin AmericaLatin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
: El incomprendido - SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
: Delitos Menores