THE HOUSE OF YES

In the world of movies, when the storm rages outside and the house becomes dark, strange things are bound to happen. In THE HOUSE OF YES, twin siblings, Jackie-O (brilliantly played by Parker Posey) and Marty Pascal (Josh Hamilton), go bump in the night. In the tradition of IN THE COMPANY OF MEN, another favorite at Sundance Film Festival, this bold movie doesn’t include a lot of depicted sex, but it does sting sharply as it candidly and humorously deals with the taboo topic of incest, further pushing the envelope of exploring offensive material on film.

Using techniques perfected by Alfred Hitchcock, this movie isn’t graphic in a macabre sense, but it explores a very unsettling topic through implication, lots of discussion and a little suggestiveness. On November 22, 1963, the same date of the Kennedy assassination, the wealthy Mr. Pascal mysteriously disappeared from his family. Ever since then, no one has been able to keep the two events separated. Most effected is young Jackie-O, who makes home films with her twin brother Marty, showing off their house as if it were the White House.

Jump to 1983. Marty comes home for Thanksgiving bringing his fiancee, Lesley (Tori [[[{{{−− ???−−spelling−−???−−}}}]]] Spelling). Jackie-O and her little brother, Anthony (Freddie Prinze Jr.), meet them at the door. Nearby is Marty’s mother (Genevieve Bujold), a sharp-tongued, eccentric woman who sees impending trouble. Before too long, we quickly realize that Jackie-O is fiercely jealous of Marty and that Anthony is sexually attracted to Lesley. Mother also seems to give approval to the strangely close relationship between Jackie-O and Marty. When the power goes off during a storm, the family members consummate their sexual attractions for each other (though the audience is spared having to see it.) Lesley comes to her senses and tries to encourage Marty to quickly leave; Anthony tells Lesley he loves her and wants to leave with her; and, Jackie-O wants to reenact the Kennedy assassination one more time with Marty for old times sake, resulting in tragedy.

The most dangerous aspect of this movie is that incest and its consequences are worn with a smiling, pretty feminine face. Jackie-O is seen as a very disturbed individual, but her piercing wit, high energy and glamorous looks undermine the seriousness of her affliction. Likewise, Marty shows up trying to sever the sinful ties of the past by declaring sexual normalcy via an engagement, but he can’t escape the strange attraction he too feels for Jackie-O. Sin wins, not normalcy. Furthermore, Marty’s mother seemingly approves of this wicked relationship and wants to see Lesley out of the picture as much as Jackie-O. Lesley can’t deal with the sudden bad news and throws her morality to the wind by bedding Anthony. Everybody is weak, fallen and given readily to sin, which ultimately leads to death.

If the pen is mightier than the sword, then the implications of the sin in this movie are mightier than its depiction. The very fact that we don’t see an all in out display of perverted sex, makes the movie more powerful in its devastation. We experience the pain that Lesley feels when she sneaks up on Marty and Jackie-O, and that pain lingers until the bitter end. The movie ROPE, by Alfred Hitchcock, had the audience biting their nails because they knew that a body was hidden in the coffee table. In ROPE, the perpetrators were eventually picked up by the police. In THE HOUSE OF YES, we cringe at the past and possible perversions between the two siblings. Furthermore, the perpetrators will have to forever live with the pain of an avoidable death.