Fanny, Annie & Danny

"Fanny, Annie and Danny" is a smart, intimately observed dramatic comedy in the vein of Mike Leigh, Nicole Holofcener, or Miranda July. Writer/director Chris Brown's film is populated with multifaceted characters as complex and contradictory as real life.

This human-scaled film is built from Brown's wonderfully nuanced script and filled with outstanding performances. Jill Pixley carries the movie as Fanny, the OCD eldest daughter of a deeply dysfunctional family. Fanny lives in a group home where her compulsive habits are creating unrest and jeopardizing her place there. The plot is set into motion when she learns that the mom and pop candy factory where she has worked for 18 years is going out of business. Pixley is completely convincing in depicting mental illness without sacrificing her character's humanity.

Collete Keene plays Edie, the merciless, misanthropic mother of three grown children-- a brave performance as a character who is all but irredeemable-- and George Killingsworth is heart-breakingly fragile as the emasculated father Ronnie, who seems in mostly like the walking dead but enjoys private, subversive moments of bliss when out of his wife's gaze. Jonathan Leveck is Danny, the baby of the family and the star child for whose attention everyone competes. Carlye Pollack's Annie, the middle child is needy and envious of anyone at the center of attention.

Nick Frangione is wonderful as Annie's fiancé Todd, a gifted slacker who seems shallow and self-absorbed, but ultimately displays more compassion and altruism than any other character.

"Fanny, Annie and Danny" is built from small, truthful, particular moments. I appreciate the respect and space it gives the viewer, refusing to judge its characters even in their extreme moments of cruelty, and offering mostly indirect clues as to the characters' history and motives. Though essentially a family drama, it is filled with hilarious details and wry observations, including some original Christmas songs that are slightly surreal distortions of something from "Mel Bay's Easy Way for Electric Home Organ." I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to see this movie at the White Sands Int'l Film Festival, and I heartily recommend seeking it out. I was somewhat let down by the ending-- a bold choice by Brown that I respect but still have reservations about. Nevertheless, the movie has stayed with me for days and I'm happy to have discovered a new auteur director whose work I will continue to follow.

I've read nine of the critics' reviews on this page, and I'm astounded that, by a 7-2 ratio, they are mostly positive. Likewise, the five user reviews are strongly positive and intelligently written. All that confounds me. I don't often post about any film I see, good or bad. But this one so rubbed -- no, GRATED -- me the wrong way that I feel compelled to mark my irritation. I am a hard-core indie film consumer, well inured to eccentricity and excess, and I'm always willing to forgive and ignore mediocre production values. Here, however, this extremely low-budget production clearly expended it's resources most efficiently. Also, the cast is more than competent, and, in the case of Jill Pixley as Fanny, totally excellent. And I have to give Chris Brown credit for mostly effective directing and a well-worded script. The problem is that the behaviors depicted are exaggerated to such an extreme that they become unrealistic. Dysfunctional families are a dime a dozen both in fiction and in real life. So if you make one the subject of your film, you'd better be showing me something I haven't known or seen before. These characters, while mostly clichés, have potential, but apart from long-suffering and poignantly human Franny, they exist at the most raucous and irritating end of the spectrum. The mother, as written, is a harridan of fantastic (in the sense of unreal) proportion. The actress's performance is precise and well-delivered, but I didn't believe in the character for a moment due to her extremity. The family doesn't exist that would respond to her behavior so benignly. Despite coming from an emotionally constricted family myself, I found this unreal shrillness so difficult to bear I nearly ejected the disc before the film was over -- something I almost never do. My uncomfortableness cannot be justifiably interpreted as the script's success. There was so much potential here for a juicy, darkly comic, even profound family analysis, but the script is simply de trop, leaving it all unfulfilled.

"Fanny, Annie and Danny" is a knockout.

Incredibly honest performances, great writing, and simple, elegant direction conspire to make this a "must-see" film. Dysfunctional families (is there really any other kind?) make for deeply involving stories, and this film is a powerful example. We're treading on the thin edge between hilarity and heartbreak every step of the way.

All Mom wants is the perfect Christmas. Dad would just like a little peace. Siblings Fanny, Annie, and Danny each have their own powerful agendas, with a lot of family history lurking behind them. Annie's boyfriend is trying to navigate the domestic minefield. Everyone's got needs, desires, and stumbling blocks... what happens when they all collide? The ensemble cast nails it, as the family gathering accelerates toward its stunning conclusion.

Wholly absorbing and beautifully shot and acted, this film has earned every one of its accolades. Go see it.

Don't miss this film. It's an exquisitely dark family dramedy in the style of "You, Me and Everyone We Know" or a more subtle "Happiness". I saw it at the White Sands International Film Festival early in the morning with a sleepy audience, but as soon as "Fanny, Annie & Danny" started, we all perked up.

The storytelling is richly layered, despite its minimalism, and I find myself still thinking about it and realizing new layers to the story now, days after seeing it. The performances are amazing, and it's clear the director values fresh, nuanced performances. I'm going to have to research all theses actors and see other projects they were in.

This movie is a treat you won't regret seeing.

This is a movie you have to watch more than once. I've seen it six times and I feel like I'm still finding layers in these characters.

The acting is so strong and the direction so confident and self-assured that it all feels terribly real. While there are humorous moments (Todd in particular) be advised that this movie fearlessly explores difficult emotions, intractable family problems and disturbing human behavior. And because it's all so well done, these elements are uncomfortably relatable and familiar. Comparisons to Noah Baumbach are on point.

I'd also like to mention the amazing work of Anne Darragh. Although it's a small part, her pitch-perfect scene is representative of the excellence attained by the entire film. Highly recommended.