A film which shows that “coming of age” is ageless
There seems to be a new sub- genre of film that’s subtly emerging in 2018; that of the punk coming of age tale. What makes the sub-genre so new is how elements of time and space have been added these stories of young minds discovering new and mysterious worlds outside of themselves. The most notable for these, the eagerly-anticipated How to Talk to Girls at Parties, has been garnering buzz following its flashy Cannes debut last year for it’s electric look, tongue-in-cheek tone and a gonzo performance from Nicole Kidman. Yet on the other end of the spectrum lies The House of Tomorrow; the feature film adaptation of the novel from the same name which offers all of the above traits combined with a soulful wisdom that’s purely its own.
In The House of Tomorrow, Sebastian (Asa Butterfield) is a teenager whose been raised by his grandmother Josephine (Ellen Burstyn) in the titular home; a dome structure built on the ideas of futurist R. Buckminster Fuller. The pair live and breathe Buckminster’s philosophies, resulting in an incredibly sheltered life for Sebastian. When the leader of a local church youth group named Alan (Nick Offerman) brings a collection of teens, including daughter Meredith (Maude Apatow) and son Jared (Alex Wolff) to the home for a guided tour, Sebastian soon finds himself embarking on a journey outside the house of tomorrow.
The drumbeat moving The House of Tomorrow along can be found in the somewhat unlikely friendship between Sebastian and Jared. While the homeschooled Sebastian has been raised on kale juice, organic vegetables and is as socially inept as can be, the punkish Jared is sarcastic, disenchanted, comes from a broken home and suffers from fragile health following a heart transplant the year before. On a whim, Alan gives Sebastian Jared’s number and a friendship ensues leading to the two boys to create their own punk band. What makes the friendship not only believable, but also incredibly endearing, is the link and bond the two share. Both boys have spent their whole lives as products of worlds constructed for them by the adults in their lives. Sebastian is thrust into the realm of futurism while Jared has been living in a world of religious belief. It’s the need to carve out their own identities which the two recognize in each other and the knowledge that their friendship is the key to asserting who they are as individuals; a plot trait all at once alien and familiar.
Eventually, The House of Tomorrow ventures slightly away from the youths at the center to explore the adults in charge of them. It’s during these instances when the film makes a different, yet undeniably genuine, statement about what it means to come of age. In Josephine and Alan we see adults coping with what the outside world has done to them the only way they know how: by crafting their own worlds to combat it. For Josephine, her unwavering devotion to futurism is rooted in the real-life love she had for its founder. It’s a devotion which has demanded so much from her, that it is literally the only thing which now defines her. For Alan, his newfound religious zeal represents a second chance; a form of redemption for the failure of his marriage and the fact that he couldn’t protect his son from his condition. On a deeper level however, one gets the sense that Alan needs religion in his life as a means for finding answers on how to give his children the best life possible.
There’s no way any of the actors could fail with material which cares so much about the characters on the page. Butterfield and Wolff have such great chemistry together and a smooth raport. Watching the former slowly soak up the outside world as Sebastian is almost as beautiful as seeing the latter unveil Jared’s carefully protected vulnerability. Apatow nails what fleeting exploration her character is given, while Michaela Watkins as Jared and Meredith’s alcoholic mother does plenty with her pair of scenes. It’s the two legendary names in the cast who really knock it out of the park, however. Offerman has rarely allowed himself to be this open, honest and raw, making sure Alan is understood by the audience with regards to the choices he makes. Burstyn meanwhile, enjoys her best screen role in years as she brings such poetry and command to a woman questioning the decisions she’s made in her life.
The House of Tomorrow represents the directorial debut of Peter Livolsi. Up until now, Livolsi has stuck to strictly helming shorts, and it’s obvious given the sometimes abrupt ways certain scenes in The House of Tomorrow end. Yet this practice also works in the novice director’s favor as he manages to gets the essence within every scene he captures and never leaving until he’s sure he has. The result is a cinematic parable that is sweet and simple in its execution, yet manages bring forth the soul of every moment on the screen.
