'Architect' builds on family problems

Magnolia Pictures

Anthony LaPaglia in "The Architect."

"The Architect" is a disturbing yet engrossing family drama in which each family member has his or her own demons.
Anthony LaPaglia plays Leo Waters, a wealthy architect who not only designs buildings but teaches the craft in college.
He has two children, Christina, played by Hayden Panettiere; and Martin, portrayed by Sebastian Stan. His coldfish wife, Julia, is played by Isabella Rossellini.
Leo is immersed in his importance, to the point he doesn't see the pain of others.
One of his crowning achievements is a public housing complex he designed more as a piece of art, a tribute to his own talents, than as a practical, useable place for people to live.
Viola Davis is Tonya, an activist who could live elsewhere but chooses to remain in the housing project as she fights to get the whole place demolished.
The reasoning is simple, while Leo's masterpiece may look good with its balance of light and space and all, it also allows gangs to take over the buildings, the elevators, the open space and cause havoc for the residents.
Tonya's teen-aged son gets so fed up, he climbs to the roof of the complex and jumps. A daughter is farmed out to a more affluent family so she only puts up with public housing when she visits mom.
Rossellinii's Julia character is cold and unflinching in her disdain for her husband. He babbles on oblivious to her feelings, puffing on a cigarette, dumping the ashes on her good plates.
She eventually gets so angry she grabs the plate and smashes it.
Daughter Christina is searching for a human relationship. There's a hint of impropriety with her father and Christina can't understand why her mother doesn't treat him better.
She is befriended by a college student who gets her into a bar where a number of men get interested in her developing attributes.
She seeks refuge outside where she is befriended by a beer distributor. Christina doesn't want to go home, so she goes with him on his rounds. At one point, she begs him for acceptance by having a sexual relationship. But he, knowing she is only 15, begs off, leaving her feeling rejected again.
Son Martin drops out of college, feels too depressed to work, but then becomes drawn to the housing complex his father designed.
He asks directions there of a young black man, played by Paul Jones, who among other things, likes John Denver music. The Jones character befriends him and ultimately they have their own relationship.
It sounds depressing and sad. But the characters come off so real and the story so compelling, it makes it worth wading through the suds.
Rossellini is the weak spot. How the daughter of Ingrid Bergman could look so plain and lifeless is difficult to comprehend. After all, she's been named one of the most beautiful and sexist stars a number of times.
The plot keeps you guessing. There is no easy-to-discern formula to this picture.
The film boasts a number of characters who you will find easy to follow and stay interested in.
Like a piece of architecture, it builds on you.

This appeared in the Star Beacon Weekender on July 6, 2007.