The tragic story concerns the battle between a former drug addict and an immigrant Iranian family over the ownership of a house in Northern California, which ultimately leads to the destruction of five lives.

The film was nominated for three Academy Awards: Best Actor (Ben Kingsley), Best Supporting Actress (Shohreh Aghdashloo), and Best Original Score (James Horner).

Abandoned by her husband, recovering drug addict Kathy Nicolo, living alone in a small house near the San Francisco Bay Area, ignores eviction notices erroneously sent to her for nonpayment of business taxes.

Telling Kathy that her home is to be auctioned off, Lester feels sympathy for her, helps her move out, and advises her to seek legal assistance to regain her house.

Former Imperial Iranian Army colonel Massoud Behrani, who fled his homeland with his family, now lives in the Bay Area working multiple menial jobs.

Living beyond his means, he maintains the façade of a respectable businessman so as not to shame his wife Nadereh, son Esmail, and daughter Soraya.

Harvey Weinstein wanted Todd Field to direct and offered Vadim Perelman $500,000, a producer credit and a script of his choosing from the Miramax slate instead, which he declined.

[6] Jonathan Ahdout, whose previous acting experience was limited to school plays, was cast as Esmail Behrani two days before the start of filming.

Mr. Perelman inadvertently exposes the inconsistencies in Mr. Dubus's novel even as he comes very close to overcoming them...the conflict between Kathy and Behrani arises from a sin so trivial as to be almost comical ... and every stage of its escalation seems determined less by the psychology of the characters than by the forced, schematic logic of the story.

"[11] Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly rated the film B−: "[it] has its pretensions, but mostly it's a vigorous and bracingly acted melodrama spun off from a situation that's pure human-thriller catnip...though I do wish that the movie didn't spiral into the most shocking of tragedies.

"[13] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone rated it three out of a possible four stars and added, "Before it runs off course into excess, this brilliantly acted film version of the 1999 novel by Andre Dubus III moves with a stabbing urgency...Vadim Perelman...makes a smashing debut in features...Prepare for an emotional wipeout.

"[14] In The New Yorker, David Denby wrote Ben Kingsley is "the only entertainment in this noble pool of despair...Vadim Perelman...produces scenes of great intensity, but he doesn't capture the colloquial ease and humor of American life.

"[16] Channel 4 stated "There's nothing wrong in funneling operatic tragedy through seemingly mundane domestic battles, but the way events escalate here feels deeply fraudulent...heavy-handed allegory and symbolism wait at every turn...though relentlessly downbeat, this is so overwrought, underdeveloped and ham-fisted that it's more unintentionally comic than genuinely tragic.