House of D

Last night, I went to what’s known as a “word-of-mouth” screening to promote David Duchovny’s writing and directing debut, House of D.

House of D is short for “Women’s House of Detention,” a women’s prison smack dab in the middle of Greenwich Village, which becomes somewhat of a pivotal and mythical place for the movie’s main character.

It’s a story of a young boy and the bittersweet experiences that turn him into a man. It’s a story of how friendships change, how decisions we make affect our lives, and how the different paths we take affect those whom we love.

The movie stars a brilliant young actor named Anton Yelchin, who plays 13-year-old Tom Warshaw. (David Duchovny plays the adult Tom Warshaw.) Robin Williams, his daughter Zelda, Tea Leoni and – my favorite – Erykah Badu also have major roles in this film, but I have to say that Yelchin is the one to watch. He’s magnetic. His acting is honest and nowhere near the schmaltzy precociousness of typical "Hollywood" child actors. His complete internalizing of the Tom Warshaw character makes you forget that he was only 13 when they shot this movie.

After the movie, Duchovny spoke to the crowd, answering our various questions. Very cool. He’s pretty funny – he has that dry sense of humor that I love oh so much. Needless to say, I was very impressed with Duchovny’s first major motion picture. It's been a while since a movie allowed me to feel a wide spectrum of emotion like that. There were some parts of the movie that just resonated with me on a personal level. For me to give specifics just wouldn't even begin to do the movie justice.

Watch for it. It comes out in New York and Los Angeles in select theatres on April 15, and then in ten cities (SF being one of them), and then nationwide some time after that.