House of Fate

Authors: Marcus Dennis
Location: Ohio

“House of Fate”

Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
Written by Paul Thomas Anderson
Edited by Hughes Winborne
Score by James Newton Howard

Principal Cast:

Tom Cruise-Ron Slackins
Ben Foster-A.J. Slackins
Robert De Niro-Mario Nicci
Edward Norton-Nicholas Nicci
Leonardo DiCaprio-Jake Reynolds
Meryl Streep-Vickie Whitfield

Tagline: "No one is innocent"

Synopsis: Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest film ‘House of Fate’ uses multiple storylines centered around relationships and corruption.

Ron Slackins (Tom Cruise) is a corrupt, obsessive-compulsive lawyer with a wife, Maria (Kerry Washington), and a son, AJ (Ben Foster). He has recently won an acquittal for a guilty criminal, Nicholas Nicci (Edward Norton). One day, he gets a parking ticket, and his day goes downhill from there. That same day, he finds out that his wife is cheating on him with a younger man, Jake Raymond (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his rebellious son is starting to look up to Nicholas, he snaps at how uncontrolled his life has become. He holds his son and wife hostage in their home. Maria manages to call the police, who quickly respond to the hostage situation. Ron demands that Nicholas and Raymond come to the house so he can kill them.

Mario Nicci (Robert De Niro) is the aging head of an organized crime family that deals with extortion and drug dealing. He is desperately seeking a younger man to pass down leadership of his business to. He is hesitant to give leadership to his son, Nicholas because of his quick temper and odd decision-making. After his son is acquitted of attempted murder, he decides not to give the family to him. He starts to take another young man, Jake Raymond, under his wing to become his heir. In an attempt to prove his loyalty Nicholas orders an unsuccessful assassination attempt on Vickie Whitfield (Meryl Streep), a rival drug dealer and crime boss. Mario, upset by this, disowns and refuses to talk to his son. After a long conservation with Vickie, Mario decides to find his son and deal with the problem head on Vickie is an aging drug dealer who is estranged from her son, Ron Slackins. After the death of her best friend from a drug overdose, she considers getting out of the business and retiring. After the attempted assassination on her she decides to put drug dealing behind her and proclaim her secret love for her business rival, Mario Nicci.

After Mario’s disowning of Nicholas, Nick sets out to kill Jake, determined that there could only be one heir to the Nicci dynasty. Nicholas heads to Ron’s house in order to kill Jake and protect AJ, who he has grown to love. Mario heads to the house to try reconcile with Nicholas and protect Jake. Jake has head to the Maria’s house to try to protect her. Vickie heads to the house to try to talk some sense into her son and tell Mario her true feelings. With everyone at the house, emotions flare, people die and lives are changed, at what will forever be known as the House of Fate.

What the press would say:

Boogie Nights. Magnolia. Punch-Drunk Love. Paul Thomas Anderson has an impressive resume of films, but none can compare to House of Fate. This brilliant screenplay puts so much heart in its flawed characters that you can’t help but see the character’s pains. His direction never shields viewers from the grittiness of the story. Robert De Niro and Tom Cruise give top-notch performances. This is easily Robert De Niro’s most emotional performance since ‘Raging Bull’. He shows a range a wide range of feelings here. Tom Cruise gives his best performance ever. Past ‘Collateral’ & ‘Interview with a Vampire’, he plays a sophisticated psycho brilliantly. Edward Norton gives a great performance as a weak man trying to be as strong as he can. Leonardo DiCaprio plays an arrogant man with everything going for him brilliantly, reminiscent of his performance in ‘The Man with the Iron Mask’. Meryl Streep gives one of her best performances as a female mobster looking for a way out. The Best Movie of the Year: House of Fate

Best Picture
Best Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Best Original Screenplay: Paul Thomas Anderson
Best Actor: Robert De Niro
Best Actor: Tom Cruise
Best Supporting Actor: Edward Norton
Best Supporting Actress: Meryl Streep
Best Editing