Em Família

This is an original, quietly powerful first movie by Patrick Wang. A true work of art, showing the power of moral justice over legal justice. The climactic scene in the 'courtroom' is amazing. Joey's achingly simple openness is how I want to be. I didn't find it political, or PC or non-PC. It's just (just! how rare) a story about some good people having to resolve important conflicts.

If I have a criticism it is that the sound was muddy and there was a little too much 'sound design'...footsteps, table settings, etc. were much too noticeable; voices not so clear.

And yes, it could have been a little tighter in the first half - somewhat slow.

But these are minor cavils about a wonderful film

NOW before I go any further, I will say this: maybe it's not everybody's kind of film. It is long (3 hours) and VERY slow. It's a bit of a gay film, although homosexuality doesn't seem to be an issue. Two guys are in a relationship, one of them (Cody, very, very cute!) has a son. They raise him together. The son is played by 6 y.o. Sebastian Banes, who is terrific. Anyway Cody dies, and according to his will made years ago, his sister is supposed to take care of the kid. The other guy wants to keep him. It is a journey through that. The camera is usually still, and the scenes are more often than not, single shots (long takes? Well "plan séquence" in French, look it up): no cuts, no interruptions, for 3 or 4 minutes, one is 9 minutes! (one with the kid lasts 2 or 3 minutes, and he performs it to perfection.) Of course it is hard to do, because everything has to be flawless for the whole sequence. But it gives the impression of "real life".

I would describe "In The Family" as "adult": by that I mean that eventually we don't even follow a plot; we follow characters through a slice of life. No spectacular images, no special effects, and no witty dialogue (God knows that this has been in very short supply for the last 20 years!): it is about people, being human, feeling.

I like Roger Ebert's review: "In the Family" is a long film, and truth to tell, could have been made shorter. (One dimly lit confrontation between Joey and a key participant seems unnecessary.) That said, I was completely absorbed from beginning to end. What a courageous first feature this is, a film that sidesteps shopworn stereotypes and tells a quiet, firm, deeply humanist story about doing the right thing. It is a film that avoids any message or statement and simply shows us, with infinite sympathy, how the life of a completely original character can help us lead our own.

Bottom line, be warned: it is long, it is slow, it is "day to day" regular life, there is nothing "out of this world" about it... and it is wonderful. (96% on Rotten Tomatoes, so don't be fooled by the meager 7,3 on IMDb ). Patrick Wang has given us a wonderful film, dare I say a masterpiece? And it deserves to be seen.

This is a distinctive film with a distinctive lead actor/director/writer, one that will probably be cited in future years as his first imperfect effort. It addresses an important issue - the uncertain rights of gay survivors - head-on from an unexpected, very individual point of view. Joey Williams, the southern-accented, low-key Asian protagonist, is a tremendously loving person - loving not only to his partner and their son (strikingly and adorably played by Sebastian Brodziak), but to others around him. As we learn his back-story as a foster child, this understated readiness to love becomes all the more moving. When he finds himself alone and having to fight for his son, his dilemma is all the more moving because he is clearly a person who, without being weak, sidesteps confrontation. His manner throughout is endearing and very specific, even as he encounters, in the most off- handed way, chilling and heartless homophobia at one of the most difficult moments of his life. The "issue" is certainly front and center here, but we care about him first and foremost as a person - luckily, since we spend far more time with him than one usually would in a film. There are also unexpected gestures of kindness and concern all through the film, one on the part of a Wise Man who appears from the most unexpected corner and reminds us that, even as Joey struggles for the right to be a father, he remains a tender soul in need of a father figure himself; at different moments, a glass of whiskey and a glass of water, each quietly offered, make it clear that he has found one. The film's unhurried pace often serves it well - one of the most moving sequences involves methodically taking out a beer and opening it - but there are also moments that are plain slow and others which keep pushing at a point that has already been made or linger overmuch on history. The film overall should have been at least a third shorter. By being as long as it is, the film actually dilutes the very real intensity of its central contemplation of family and its meaning. But these are flaws in an overall excellent film, one which is rarely predictable and often quietly surprising, above all very warm and human all the way through. Its low-key quirkiness, by the way, includes one of the more off-the-wall bits of product placement to be seen in an indie film, one that will delight the handful of fans who know and care who wrote "Wild Thing". As gracefully integrated as this is, one gets the sense that the director/writer knew the songwriter and wanted, as much as anything else, to help him out; a gesture which sums up the fundamentally loving nature of this entire project.

Many critics could argue, perhaps convincingly, that "In the Family" could be edited from its almost 3 hours to 2 hours, however, the pacing of the film doesn't suffer from its length. And by taking time to develop the almost mundane everyday life of a gay couple raising a young son, the film is actually a bold political statement that speaks directly to every person who thinks being gay is somehow a non-stop sex fest. Because of that, the film makes a very strong point even before the issues at the heart of the movie become front and center. It's a family friendly film where sexual orientation is almost an afterthought of the movie and that is what sets the tone and makes it groundbreaking. That is a long winded way of saying that anyone who thinks the film should fit into a typical 2 hour movie formula, is missing the depth of the story and the emotional impact the pacing creates.

Many Asian-American actors would say they hate doing accents because they are connected with stereotypical roles, but Patrick Wang's southern accent probably wasn't what Asian-American actors had in mind and in this case it is a testament to Patrick's incredible acting abilities. I am one who thinks directors should direct and not also take on the demand of acting in their own films because both can suffer, but Patrick Wang's acting and directing are both amazing. He has embraced this film heart and soul and it's evident in its emotional complexity and perhaps this is a case where it could not have been as successful without Patrick in both roles.

In the film the downward spiral starts with the confrontation between Joey (Patrick Wang) and Chad's sister over the will and is a riveting scene that doesn't leave the viewer rooting for anyone, but actually feeling the pain and the point each is making about the circumstances. But for Joey it is the most devastating because everything in his life is gone overnight; his partner, his child, and his home. The loneliness and destruction of his life is powerfully and beautifully created by Patrick's acting and directing making this a heart wrenching film that shouldn't be missed. And the film's conclusion? Emotionally brilliant.

Patrick Wang focuses the image in a way that allows the viewer to imagine the other spaces not shown on screen. He also carefully selects each frame to reveal or obscure what is relevant to each moment. I have no other term for it but 360 degree acting. And included in this acting ensemble are architecture, objects, sounds, the movement of dust.

What startles too is the amount of time taken to get to know people. I can tell that the actors know this time will be taken, that their portraits will unfold in a more natural way because I saw them relax and actually find responses that at times startled them (themselves). Perhaps this is the greatest homage to actors an actor/ director/ writer can give.

In the accumulation of moments, I felt like I knew this house, I knew what it was to spend time with these people, with this young boy 'Chip', and so when moments such as the trial opened up or we see Joey (Wang)'s shoulders and back of head while he's making a book, emotion came up in me in a subtler way. My experience was less one of spectator and more one of someone who was a friend of this character. At one point, I did utter aloud in reference to Chip, 'please let him come home' in my living room viewing this film all by myself!

I was reading an interview with Alexander Payne in Film Comment recently and he said something like 'we have no idea yet what a film could be'. I think that Mr. Wang has taken his opportunity and really produced something he himself understands and we all must see. I'm thrilled that the film has been made.