30 Second Bottom Line: A sixteen-year-old girl and her eleven-year-old brother are orphaned when their parents are killed in a car crash. They move in with former neighbors and friends of their parents, Terry and Dr. Erin Glass, their new legal guardians. Terry and Erin's home, a magnificent glass house perched on a cliff, is a psychological maze, filled with prying eyes, subtle innuendoes, strange shadows, sharp angles and hypnotic reflections. Ruby's suspicions consume her. She ultimately uncovers the terrifying truth and wages a battle of wits to conquer her predators.

Story Line: In this tightly knit psychological drama, perception, hidden agendas, and parental controls are delicately interwoven to create a labyrinth of convoluted reality for two orphaned children, Ruby and Rhett Baker (Leelee Sobieski and Trevor Morgan), living with friends of their deceased parents.

Ruby is a marginally rebellious sixteen-year-old valley girl who sneaks out to party with friends, smoke cigarettes and have fun. She comes home from such an escapade one night to find the police in her home. She thinks she's in trouble, then learns the horrifying truth-both her parents were killed when their car they plunged off a cliff on this rainy night. At the funeral Ruby meets her parents' trust attorney and her mother's long lost brother from Chicago. Both say they will be there for her and her brother if needed. In short order, their house is sold, they leave their friends and school and move into a terrifically dramatic, modern, angular glass house perched on a cliff over the ocean in Malibu with their new guardians, Terry and Dr. Erin Glass (Stellen Skarsgard and Diane Lane).

At first blush it seems an ideal, magnificent home for these two children. It's like a huge multi-leveled glass aquarium with reflections of light and water everywhere. But from day one, Ruby feels an invasion of her privacy. She is to room with her younger brother, which seems odd in such a large house. When she steps outside their shared bedroom to change into her pajamas she senses that Terry is lasciviously spying on her. Within a day or two Erin has a heart-to-heart with her about her bad attitude, having listened in on one of Ruby's phone conversations.

There are drugs, raging but barely heard arguments between Terry and Erin, looming gangster-types harassing Terry, and the undeniable impression of sexual advances by Terry. All of these incidences are minimized by Terry and Erin, leaving Ruby to wonder what is reality, and whether she is unreasonably paranoid. She seeks help from the trust attorney, who in turn talks to Terry and Erin about Ruby's concerns, only increasing the tension in the glass house.

A social worker checks in with Ruby at school and even visits the house for an on-site inspection, but can't seem to identify any real danger for these kids. Meanwhile Ruby's younger brother, Rhett, is enjoying a slew of new Nintendo and Play Station games. As Ruby says, "They have bought your silence."

Ruby is haunted by her suspicions, and ultimately finds hard-core proof of deviant behavior by Terry and Erin. Feeling unprotected by both the social worker and trust attorney, Ruby becomes her own spy determined to save and protect herself and her brother. She discovers further information proving that these people are evil and out to harm her and Rhett. The tension and strategic maneuvering between Ruby, Terry and Erin is masterfully orchestrated.

Tell Me More About It: This film has a subtle building of suspicion and intrigue that is terrifying and emotionally gripping. Terry and Erin appear to have it all-elegance, money, esteemed professions, a magnificent home. They are very attractive people who appear to genuinely care for Ruby and Rhett. In the unveiling of their evil, twisted minds we are as stunned as Ruby to realize the looming deadly reality. This is a nightmare where children have no voice, no rights, and are easily dismissed in a society where adults rule. Two accomplished, highly regarded adults have overpowering credibility compared to recently traumatized children.

What makes this movie brilliant and enthralling is that the things out of order are only slightly so. We, along with Ruby, think the odd event or feeling could be an accident or simply a misunderstanding. Like Ruby, we are simply not sure of what is the reality. When we discover the truth we feel her sense of powerlessness, that she and her brother are trapped by evil, powerful, intelligent adults. Ruby takes on the mission to destroy Terry and Erin before they destroy her and Rhett. In a one-upmanship of wits, Ruby succeeds at saving herself and her brother.

This movie held me captive and swept me away with its intrigue, and subtle confused messages. The location and cinematography adds masterfully to the drama of the story. The angles, eerie lighting, mesmerizing reflections of light on glass and water make a fantastic impression of moving watery images leaving little of concrete substance to hold onto. Ruby's calls for help, left essentially unheeded by the sympathetic but trusting adults creates a dream-like quality of screaming for help with no sound escaping from your mouth.

Diane Lane: Hardball, Perfect Storm	Leelee Sobieski: My First Mister, Eyes Wide Shut
Stellen Skarsgard: Signs and Wonders, Dancer in the Dark	Trevor Morgan: Hardball, Jurassic Park III
Daniel Sackheim: Numerous TV Productions

Ruby Baker: Leelee Sobieski	Rhett Baker: Trevor Morgan
Erin Glass: Diane Lane	Terry Glass: Stellan Skarsgard
Director: Daniel Sackheim