Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 5/10
Cast: Taylor Schilling, Brian Tyree Henry, Bryn Vale, Allison Tolman, Jessie Ennis, Matt Walsh, Eric Edelstein, Fabrizio Guido, Peter Horton, Blair Beeken, Karen Kendrick, Kate McKinnon.
A tale of redemption is one that cinema cannot fail to embrace, especially when it comes to the idea of Family, the chance shown through a series of misadventures that relationships with those bonded by blood are worth more than blocking the self-absorbed and toxic out of your life, that no matter what, a family member can be redeemed and brought back into the fold.
Whilst this could sound like any of the tropes that bind the Star Wars universe together, it is a moment in a long list of films that discuss such values and how we frame that one person who is considered a lost cause, but turns out to be the one person needed to bring a sense of belonging to someone else; in an age where we are urged to be inclusive, sometimes the premise may be a little stretched.
Such a dynamic is highlighted in the film Family starring Taylor Schilling and Bryn Vale, a woman whose own compass has begun to spin out of control as her quick mouth and inconsiderate actions make others around her despise the ground she walks on, and her young niece who has been excluded by others at her school and who seeks comfort and acceptance in the activities that her mum and dad would find alarming.
Whilst the comedy of the film works sparingly, especially in the confrontations between Ms. Schilling and her niece’s neighbour Jill, played with some style by the as ever reliable Kate McKinnon, it is the idea of the message of inter personal redemption that the film hangs upon, and because of its insistence to be seen as all-encompassing, it fails to deliver a punch on the viewer’s sense of perception; instead it comes across as preaching to a section of society that are already in tune with its point but failing to grasp that those that need to hear the message will not be the ones who will be tearing themselves apart to watch it.
Comedy truly works when it is willing to be seen as the instrument of change across the board, where it is willing to be confrontational without being apologetic; unfortunately for Family, and despite its noble intentions, it is a film that is too nice to stand in the limelight, redemption gained by social nicety rather than true examination of one’s behaviour.
A film that clings to the average with purposeful intent, a family affair that is run of the mill to be anything else.
Ian D. Hall