info
Google Groups no longer supports new Usenet posts or subscriptions. Historical content remains viewable.
Dismiss
Review: In the Family (2012)
7 views
Skip to first unread message
Mark Leeper
Nov 9, 2012, 12:53:01 PM11/9/12
to
IN THE FAMILY
(a film review by Mark R. Leeper)
CAPSULE: A gay man fights to regain the custody of his
son who is the biological child of his deceased life
partner. IN THE FAMILY is a moving film that will
remind viewers of the emotional tugs of a KRAMER VS.
KRAMER. This is a very good 165-minute film, but it
could have made a better 105-minute film. The newcomer
producer, director, and star Patrick Wang starts out
making one of the best films of the year. Rating:
low +3 (-4 to +4) or 8/10
Currently legally there is a difference between the rights of a
spouse and of a gay life partner. IN THE FAMILY is a drama that
takes place in that gap. For years Cody and Joey (played by
director/writer/producer Patrick Wang) were effectively a married
couple living in Martin, Tennessee. Together they raised Cody's
delightful biological son, Chip (Sebastian Brodziak). But then
Cody is badly injured in a traffic accident and the hospital will
not even give Joey permission to see Cody. When Cody dies his
family wants to pretend that Joey never existed. An out-dated will
names Cody's sister Sally (Park Overall) as Chip's guardian, and
Joey finds he will lose Chip to Sally. It takes a while before
Joey can seriously take all the changes in. Then he realizes the
law is on Sally's side and he is going to have to fight if he wants
to raise Chip. The film takes the time to show us in flashbacks
how Joey and Cody's relationship developed. But Joey is usually
center stage through the entire film and Wang is able to keep that
compelling enough that it does not seem like a director favoring
his character.
In large part the film lives or dies on Wang's ability to present
us with an extraordinary and compelling view of Joey. For almost
the entire film he does that flawlessly. Only in the very late
part of the film does he make Joey seem just a little too perfect.
Rare is the actor who could present a character so sincerely
without going a little bit over the top. But this is an emotional
film and audiences will be reminded of films like KRAMER VS.
KRAMER. That film was about fathers' rights (or more accurately
the lack thereof) in a legal system that overly favored the mother
over the father in child custody conflicts. This film is very much
a KRAMER VS. KRAMER for our time, but centering on gay rights and
unmarried spouse rights.
The characters are civil to each other in a thin veneer of
politeness that betrays certain prejudices of an earlier time.
Wang has cast himself as Chinese in his origins but having lived
his life in the South. One suspects that that is true of Wang
himself. It is interesting that Wang goes through almost the whole
film without mentioning that Wang's character Joey is Chinese in
origin. Nobody mentions it. But the fact he is Chinese and is gay
is behind much of what people think of Joey. There is not a trace
of Chinese accent in his speech. His Joey is able not just to
convince us that his character would be a good father, but that he
would be a near perfect father. That is not easy to do on the
screen without making him cloyingly sweet.
Wang draws the viewer emotionally into the situation and makes the
one mistake of the production. He is a long film with what is at
times some very slow pacing. Not every film has to be a speed
chase to be under two hours, of course. But Wang occasionally
drags a wordless scene on without much action on the screen for
what turns into a long take. Perhaps he is conveying an emotion,
but he can do that without creating an artificially slow pacing.
Through much of this the viewer knows what is going on in the
characters' head. Different editing could have conveyed the same
emotion in a shorter space of time. That is part of the point of
editing. The film could have been better in a trimmer form that
could have been even more potent in 105 minutes than it was at 165.
This is a poignant story of a legal situation in which both sides
are trying to find what is right and wrong under a great deal of
emotional stress.
The unknown but excellent cast of actors and director. It is an
affecting experience. I rate IN THE FAMILY a low +3 on the -4 to
+4 scale or 8/10.
Film Credits: <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1845804/>
What others are saying:
<http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/in_the_family_2011/>
Mark R. Leeper
mle...@optonline.net
Copyright 2012 Mark R. Leeper
(a film review by Mark R. Leeper)
CAPSULE: A gay man fights to regain the custody of his
son who is the biological child of his deceased life
partner. IN THE FAMILY is a moving film that will
remind viewers of the emotional tugs of a KRAMER VS.
KRAMER. This is a very good 165-minute film, but it
could have made a better 105-minute film. The newcomer
producer, director, and star Patrick Wang starts out
making one of the best films of the year. Rating:
low +3 (-4 to +4) or 8/10
Currently legally there is a difference between the rights of a
spouse and of a gay life partner. IN THE FAMILY is a drama that
takes place in that gap. For years Cody and Joey (played by
director/writer/producer Patrick Wang) were effectively a married
couple living in Martin, Tennessee. Together they raised Cody's
delightful biological son, Chip (Sebastian Brodziak). But then
Cody is badly injured in a traffic accident and the hospital will
not even give Joey permission to see Cody. When Cody dies his
family wants to pretend that Joey never existed. An out-dated will
names Cody's sister Sally (Park Overall) as Chip's guardian, and
Joey finds he will lose Chip to Sally. It takes a while before
Joey can seriously take all the changes in. Then he realizes the
law is on Sally's side and he is going to have to fight if he wants
to raise Chip. The film takes the time to show us in flashbacks
how Joey and Cody's relationship developed. But Joey is usually
center stage through the entire film and Wang is able to keep that
compelling enough that it does not seem like a director favoring
his character.
In large part the film lives or dies on Wang's ability to present
us with an extraordinary and compelling view of Joey. For almost
the entire film he does that flawlessly. Only in the very late
part of the film does he make Joey seem just a little too perfect.
Rare is the actor who could present a character so sincerely
without going a little bit over the top. But this is an emotional
film and audiences will be reminded of films like KRAMER VS.
KRAMER. That film was about fathers' rights (or more accurately
the lack thereof) in a legal system that overly favored the mother
over the father in child custody conflicts. This film is very much
a KRAMER VS. KRAMER for our time, but centering on gay rights and
unmarried spouse rights.
The characters are civil to each other in a thin veneer of
politeness that betrays certain prejudices of an earlier time.
Wang has cast himself as Chinese in his origins but having lived
his life in the South. One suspects that that is true of Wang
himself. It is interesting that Wang goes through almost the whole
film without mentioning that Wang's character Joey is Chinese in
origin. Nobody mentions it. But the fact he is Chinese and is gay
is behind much of what people think of Joey. There is not a trace
of Chinese accent in his speech. His Joey is able not just to
convince us that his character would be a good father, but that he
would be a near perfect father. That is not easy to do on the
screen without making him cloyingly sweet.
Wang draws the viewer emotionally into the situation and makes the
one mistake of the production. He is a long film with what is at
times some very slow pacing. Not every film has to be a speed
chase to be under two hours, of course. But Wang occasionally
drags a wordless scene on without much action on the screen for
what turns into a long take. Perhaps he is conveying an emotion,
but he can do that without creating an artificially slow pacing.
Through much of this the viewer knows what is going on in the
characters' head. Different editing could have conveyed the same
emotion in a shorter space of time. That is part of the point of
editing. The film could have been better in a trimmer form that
could have been even more potent in 105 minutes than it was at 165.
This is a poignant story of a legal situation in which both sides
are trying to find what is right and wrong under a great deal of
emotional stress.
The unknown but excellent cast of actors and director. It is an
affecting experience. I rate IN THE FAMILY a low +3 on the -4 to
+4 scale or 8/10.
Film Credits: <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1845804/>
What others are saying:
<http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/in_the_family_2011/>
Mark R. Leeper
mle...@optonline.net
Copyright 2012 Mark R. Leeper
0 new messages