House of Sand and Fog (2003)

Quite possibly the closest thing to classical tragedy that 2003 had to offer, in which the fatal character flaw is an excess of pride. Standing in sharp contrast to the meandering of Monster (seen on the same day as this), the inexorable logic of this film's scenario makes for a mesmerizing experience -- one which, thankfully, always stays true to its characters. The narrative's neatest trick is finding ways to keep both Jennifer Connelly and Ben Kingsley understandable and sympathetic even as they do things that we don't agree with. It's not uplifting or happy or any such thing like that, but it does offer the pleasure of a good story well told, plus it has fabulous acting work from its entire ensemble (Connelly, in addition to being megahot, seems to get better and better as an actress with every film). This one's a keeper, folks.

Grade: A-