House of Cards MPAA Rating: PG-13 Entertainment: +2 1/2 Content: -1

To have a PG-13 rating, HOUSE OF CARDS is a surprisingly gentle and sensitive film. It's the unique story of a widowed mother, Ruth Matthews (Kathleen Turner) struggling to bring her emotionally disturbed, autistic daughter, Sally (Asha Menina) back to reality. When Sally's father is accidentally killed, Sally lapses into a dream-like state and refuses to talk. She's put in the care of a psychologist (Tommy Lee Jones) who has little success in helping her. Strangely enough, using her architectural training, her mother develops a scheme which shows promise of restoring Sally to normal. HOUSE OF CARDS is somewhat lacking in emotional impact, but is an appealing, thought provoking film.

This film could have been rated PG, possibly even G, if its moderate amount of offensive language had been eliminated. It contains subdued obscenities, some expressed by Sally's adolescent brother. Some profanities are also spoken, occasionally in a slang form. It's devoid of sexual content, except for a mildly suggestive incident when Ruth is accidentally thrown on top of the male psychologist. Too bad the seemingly ever present foul language in today's films spoils this otherwise high quality film.

Preview Reviewer: John Evans
Distributor: Miramax Films, 18 E. 48th St., Ste 1601, NY, NY 10017