House of Cards (1993)

House of Cards (1993) (DVD) (*)

Out of Stock

Language Selections:
English ( Dolby Digital Stereo )

Product Origin/Format:
United Kingdom ( PAL/Region 0 )

Running Time:
110 min

Aspect Ratio:
Fullscreen

Special Features:
Interactive Menu
Scene Access

Movie filmed in 1993 and produced in:
United States ( USA, Canada )

Directed By:
Michael Lessac

Written By:
Michael Lessac
Robert Jay Litz

Actors:
Kathleen Turner ..... Ruth Matthews
Tommy Lee Jones ..... Jake Beerlander
Asha Menina ..... Sally Matthews
Shiloh Strong ..... Michael Matthews
Esther Rolle ..... Adelle
Park Overall ..... Lillian Huber
Michael Horse ..... Stoker
Anne Pitoniak ..... Judge
Joaquín Martínez ..... Selord
Jacqueline Cassell ..... Joey's Mother (as Jacqueline Cassel)
John Henderson ..... Bart Huber
Craig Fuller ..... Ray Huber
Rick Marshall ..... Frank Stearson
Reuben Valiquette Murray ..... Reuben
Russell ..... Emily

Synopsis:

After an accident on an archeological site in Mexico leaves Ruth Matthews (Kathleen Turner) a widow, she has to face an additional problem: her 6-year-old daughter refuses to speak. Psychiatrist Jake Beerlander (Tommy Lee Jones) believes that Sally is suffering from autism, but Ruth refuses to accept his diagnosis and instead risks her own sanity by attempting to enter her daughter's mind and make sense of the seemingly bizarre things that Sally does, including building a wondrous house of cards.

Michael Lessac's lugubrious House of Cards, women's intuition beats out psychology in the battle against autism. The story begins in Mexico, where a little girl named Sally Matthews (Asha Menina) lives with her parents, scientists studying ancient ruins. When her father falls to his death, Sally is comforted by a Mayan mystic that tells Sally her father has gone to the moon. When Sally, her mother Ruth (Kathleen Turner), and her brother Michael (Shiloh Strong) return home to North Carolina, Sally begins to retreat into autism. She first stares silently at the night sky. Then she shrieks when Ruth wears a baseball cap the wrong way. Finally she develops the habit of scaling the roof of the house and other tall structures. This makes Ruth realize that there is something seriously wrong, and she takes her to see Dr. Jacob Beerlander, a psychiatrist who is an expert in autism. As Sally retreats more and more into herself, Beerlander and Ruth clash over the scientific approach versus the intuition of a mother.

When Ruth Matthews's husband is killed in a fall at an archaeological dig, her daughter Sally handles her father's death in a very odd manner. As Sally's condition worsens, Ruth takes her to see Jake, an expert in childhood autism. Jake attempts to bring Sally out of her mental disarray through traditional therapy methods, but Ruth takes a different route. She risks her own sanity by attempting to enter her daughter's mind and make sense of the seemingly bizarre things that Sally does, including building a wondrous house of cards.

This product was added to our catalog on Saturday 08 October, 2016.