A spirit that can’t be locked up

“House of D,” which marks David Duchovny’s writing and directing feature debut, is a heartfelt coming of age story, set in 1973, that takes its title from the old Women’s House of Detention in Greenwich Village. On the cusp of 13, Anton Yelchin’s Tommy strikes up an acquaintance with one of its inmates (Erykah Badu), who shouts down advice to him from her solitary confinement in the massive, now demolished Romanesque Revival landmark.

Tommy needs all the advice he can get. His father died a year earlier, leaving his mother (Tea Leoni), despondent enough that he regularly checks her sleeping pill supply to make sure she’s not overdoing it. His best pal Pappass (Robin Williams) is a middle-aged, mildly retarded man who works as a janitor at Tommy’s parochial school and with whom Tommy delivers meat for a local butcher. Tommy is beginning to notice girls and is dreaming of a future as an artist. This is where Badu’s streetwise, no-nonsense encouragement counts.

Much that takes place in “House of D” is a bit of stretch, to say the least, and a lot of it verges on the saccharine, but it’s clear that Duchovny wants his film to be seen as a rite of passage fable about how boys must discover what it means to be a man and what it takes to become one. In this Duchovny is on the right track, just as he is in showing how fragile day-to-day existence is for Tommy and his mother.

“House of D,” which benefits from Michael Chapman’s typically fresh, flowing camerawork, is framed by a present-day prologue set in Paris, where the impending 13th birthday of his son (Harold Cartier) causes the adult Tom (Duchovny) to look back at the life-changing events that occurred around his own 13th birthday. There is a matching epilogue depicting Tom’s return to Manhattan after three decades.

Even though Williams gives a restrained performance, his casting is perhaps a little too obvious, with the wistfulness and pathos he brings to Pappass a tad too predictable. Zelda Williams as Tommy’s first crush, Frank Langella as the priest in charge of the parochial school and Magali Amadei as Tommy’s French wife are among those rounding out a reliable cast.

A film that takes a steadfastly gentle look at some of life’s harshest moments while not overlooking its joys, “House of D” deserves a chance to find an audience.

*

‘House of D’

MPAA rating: PG-13 for sexual and drug references, thematic elements and language

Times guidelines: Mature themes, but appropriate for mature early teens

A Lions Gate Films presentation. Writer-director David Duchovny. Producers Richard B. Lewis, Bob Yari, Jane Rosenthal. Cinematographer Michael Chapman. Editor Suzy Elmiger. Music Geoff Zanelli. Costumes Ellen Lutter. Production designer Lester Cohen. Art director Teresa Mastropiero. Set decorator Jennifer Greenberg. Running time: 1 hour, 37 minutes.

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