Nothing is as it seems in The Glass House, a classy suspense thriller starring Leelee Sobieski. Playing a rebellious teenager who, after losing her parents in a car accident, must live with a suspicious married couple in their coldly elegant mansion, Sobieski outshines such veteran performers as Diane Lane, Stellan Skarsgard, and Bruce Dern. I’m amazed at the depth of this statuesque teen’s performance as a sister trying to save herself and her 10-year old brother from people she believes will harm them both.

Sobieski (Here on Earth) reminds me of a young Ingrid Bergman here. Like the late Swedish actress, her clean-cut beauty projects more soul than sex. And her voice has the same haunting resonance. While watching Sobieski in The Glass House, I couldn’t help thinking about Bergman in Gaslight --- despite the difference in time and setting. In this later film, Sobieski’s character begins to have doubts about her perceptions of reality, just as Bergman’s troubled bride questions her own sanity. And both actresses carry me right along with them through the shadowy maze of their suffering.

The Glass House may not be about ghosts or the supernatural, but it’s much more frightening. Evil comes in the form of ordinary people with greedy agendas. Skarsgard (Good Will Hunting) and Lane (Hardball) portray the Glasses, best friends of Sobieski’s ill-fated parents. They are named as the children’s guardians in the will. Consequently, the Glasses have access to a large trust fund left for the siblings, according to the parents’ lawyer, played enigmatically by Dern (All the Pretty Horses). Lane and Skarsgard did a super job of keeping me guessing about their true motivations during the first part of the film. They seemed so caring and concerned, especially Skarsgard, who delivered such a touching funeral speech. Besides, how could anyone living in such a luxurious house and working so hard at respectable careers (she’s a doctor; he’s a business executive) want to hurt their departed friends’ children?

Still, I found something odd about that house even before things started falling apart inside its massive interior. No, it’s not one of those spooky haunted castles. Nothing like that. In fact, a few eerie spirits floating around might have made it less scary. Constructed of concrete, glass, and steel, the huge residence is perched on a promontory and surrounded by mountains, with a view of the Pacific Ocean. Director Daniel Sackheim, making his feature film debut with The Glass House, describes the place as a sort of beautiful, pristine prison. "I think one of the things I was trying to create in this house was this notion of being able to see through everything, and yet not see anything at the same time," he explains.

To me, this strange house is as much a character in the movie as the humans. And, although magnificent to view, it’s definitely not child-friendly --- which might explain why the Glasses set aside only one bedroom for the sister and brother (Trevor Howard from Jurassic Park III) to share. "It’s only temporary," the kids are told.

After recently sitting through Jeepers Creepers, a film with countless scenes of annoying bickering between a sister and brother, I was pleased to see this type of relationship downplayed in The Glass House. Sure, Sobieski’s character complains to her brother, "You’ve been bought off," and shows anger at his acceptance of the Glasses because of all the electronic toys he’s been given, but there’s none of the obnoxious give-and-take that ruined Jeepers Creepers for me. (I almost took the monster’s side in that one!)

Combining a coming-of-age story with an updated Gothic theme, The Glass House emphasizes how important it is to trust yourself and take responsibility for your own safety. Although a little too heavy on revenge, it shows the strength and courage of one young woman when faced with a deadly crisis. As a fan of good suspense thrillers, I enjoyed it from beginning to end.

(Released by Columbia Pictures and rated "PG-13" for sinister thematic elements, violence, drug content, and language.)