A morally ambiguous but sentimental drama
The Doll House is a story about a father who tries to rekindle the relationship he never had with his daughter. While the idea is nice, the way Doll House presents its character and situation leaves a lot to be desired. The story is told from the perspective of a troubled and flawed father, who seems to have little control over his life. The characters are poorly developed and their motivations are unclear. The ending leaves much to be desired, as it feels like Doll House was not meant to be taken seriously.
Rustin is a powerful man who has been responsible for the death of many people. He’s a madman who doesn’t care about anyone but himself. When he arrives at the nursing home, he’s in a state of great distress. His daughter has come to visit him and she tells him that she’s the one who found him. She tells him that she’s come to take him away from this place and make him happy again. Rustin is hesitant at first, but then he realizes that this woman is telling the truth and that she can help him find his past. Together, they set out on a journey to find his past and learn what happened to them all those years ago.
Rustin, a rock musician, travels to Rotterdam to make amends for the wrongs he’s caused. He is accompanied by his friend Diego, who is in a bad place. ..
Rustin is estranged from his daughter Yumi and has been living as Clyde in an effort to get to know her. When he shows up, he adopts a fake persona under the name of Clyde in an effort to get to know his daughter, Yumi.
Rustin’s daughter Yumi is away at college, and he’s determined to keep the truth from her. He meets with Rachelle, his wife of many years, to get her opinion on what he should do. Rachelle is hesitant to believe that Rustin could be involved in something like this, but she ultimately agrees to help out. When the truth comes out about Bok, Rustin is left reeling and frustrated. He wants nothing more than for Yumi to be safe and sound, but he knows that won’t be possible if he can’t get the truth out of Bok.
Thematically, the movie feels like it’s missing a lot of the emotional power it could have had. While there are some lovely montages where Rustin and Yumi play together, there’s a segment where Rustin takes her away from Bok so they can go and hang out and stay in a hotel together. Bok is worried sick and Rustin eventually turns his phone off. All the while, whimsical music plays?
The problem with this angle is that Rustin isn’t exactly a sympathetic protagonist we can root for. He’s deeply flawed, and we see him drinking and doing drugs multiple times. At one point he actually drinks so heavily he almost misses a rehearsal he promises his daughter he’d attend with her. ..
I can’t help but feel that a better way to go with this story would have been to see Rustin get sober after the incident with Diego and then as a sobriety pledge, he sets out to right the wrongs in his life – including meeting and getting to know his daughter.
The acting is a little spotty in places, although that can be attributed somewhat to the fact English is a second language here and the drama jumps back and forth between Filipino and English on multiple occasions.
The editing and camera work is a little better than the first time around, but there are a few awkwardly framed segments that stand out. However, flashbacks have the cliched fish-eye lens attached to them.
The Doll House is a fun film that is sure to please fans of Yumi. She’s a cute and engaging character, and her presence helps to make the story more interesting.
In the Doll House ending, the characters learn that they are not the only ones who have been dreaming. The dreamers have been dreaming of each other all along.
