Life as a House

George Monroe is a middle-aged architect whose life has come apart. Divorced from his wife Robin and estranged from his teenage son Sam, he learns he has terminal cancer and decides to spend the time he has left building the house by the sea he had long dreamed of. He takes custody of Sam, a withdrawn and hostile boy, and tries to draw him into the work, hoping to repair their relationship and settle matters with the family he left behind.

Directed by Irwin Winkler, the film was his fifth feature, following At First Sight and preceding De-Lovely. Mark Andrus wrote the screenplay, and Winkler produced with Rob Cowan for New Line Cinema. Kevin Kline plays George, with Hayden Christensen as Sam, Kristin Scott Thomas as Robin, Jena Malone and Mary Steenburgen as neighbours, and Ian Somerhalder as Josh.

Released in October 2001, the drama runs 125 minutes. Made on a budget of about 18 million dollars, it took roughly 24 million dollars worldwide, a modest return. On IMDb it holds 7.5 from over 45,000 votes, and on TMDB 7.1 from 463 votes, both indicating a generally favourable audience response. A critics' rating of 5.3 from 106 reviews places it below those audience scores.