by Sav Rodgers, Guest Reporter

Typically I pay no mind to reviews before I go watch a film: if the movie appears interesting and catches my eye from the get go, I would like to make up my own mind about it rather than having someone else tell me how I should feel about it. None of the reviews I’ve had the opportunity to read have been able to accurately pinpoint my own views on it though. So, if you’re not like me and would rather have an honest opinion before you go see it or if you’re not sure whether or not you wish to see it, allow me to guide you in your decision making. If you’ve seen it and are simply curious, you are certainly more than welcome to have a gander as well.

Fair warning to all who may read: this review is not spoiler free. Read at your own risk.

So, let’s talk about some weak points first so that we can get to the reasons to go see this movie:

Exposition and Character Development: The biggest disappointment has to be how little background we get on the family: they have an interesting, gritty past that the audience has a desire to know more about when leaving the theater. Fred alludes to the fact that the kids always adapted better when moving around, but just how many times did they need to move? The family has a genuinely interesting story that remains somewhat untold when the film ends. The lack of character development is a bit troubling. Two characters stand out in my mind in that regard: Jones’ FBI agent Robert Stansfield and Agron’s Belle Blake. Both characters seem to have infinite potential, both being quite stoic with a lot of introspection below the surface. Though there’s a limited amount of screen time available, seeing these two fleshed out would have been preferable to seeing Fred Blake watch Goodfellas. Insight to their characters would have been better than an admittedly funny self-referential joke.

Here’s a little background: the film is based on the French novel Malavita, written by Tonino Benacquista. Towards the end of the book and film both, Belle is standing on a ledge fully prepared to kill herself after suffering a personal heartbreak due to a lascivious and short-lived affair with her math tutor. She says that only love could take her away from her crazy life in one phone call with the man. First and foremost, Agron’s performance is fantastic. She brilliantly portrays Belle for who she is: intelligent, reserved, and idealistic. She yearns for a life away from her constant relocating and from a writing perspective, however, it seems as though she gets the short end of the stick and it makes viewers scratch their head as to how she got to the point of standing over a ledge, fully prepared to take her own life. I personally take great pleasure in the fact that the novel has a sequel and I know how her story ends. Maybe if we’re lucky, Besson will take on a project to adapt Malavita: Encore.

Now, let’s talk about all of the fantastic reasons you should see this movie.

Acting: Let’s take a moment to praise the casting director as well as Luc Besson for their choices for each role: having Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Tommy Lee Jones headlining one’s movie certainly accounts for taste. To no one’s surprise, all three of these actors nail their parts and add a real depth to Fred, Maggie, and Stansfield, respectively. There is one scene in particular that moved me where both Fred and Maggie are talking on the couch discussing life in Normandy. Quickly, it turns into something real: despite everything else going haywire in their lives, they have their marriage at the end of the day. They support one another. They love each other. Even mobsters turned federal informants have hearts. If nothing else does, this is the scene that makes you root for Fred despite all of his misgivings.

Despite lovely acting from the the adults in the film, the most charming performances in the movie are both Dianna Agron’s and John D’Leo’s. Playing Belle and Warren Blake respectively, these two show they can hold their own with the best of the best. Seeing Agron in such a mature role makes one feel as though this is how it’s supposed to be: this role shows her range, her versatility, and infinite potential. Soon enough, she won’t be playing the high school cheerleader, as she has done so many times. I, for one, am ecstatic to see the transition. There is one scene in particular where a group of guys drive Belle out to a park after promising to drive her home; it’s clear their intentions are less than pure as one of the boys pulls down the strap of her dress. The would-be offenders are quickly brought back down to Earth after she rather explosively beats one of them with a tennis racket and kicks him in the groin. She makes a profound speech commenting on how men are nothing without women and that women are to be respected, stating how the boys are doomed if that’s their approach. With a broken tennis racket in hand and a scowl on her face, the message sinks in. It’s an interesting social commentary, besides the fact that she commits both battery and grand theft auto over the course of a minute onscreen. It makes a bold statement about the way that women are treated and leaves the viewer with something to think about. Praise should be given to both Agron and Besson’s writing for that one.

Dark Humor: Many people who were in the same theater I was in had the same concern while walking out: what was the genre? To answer that question, it’s a dark comedy. It’s okay to laugh at the jokes in there. They’re there for a reason. They’re executed quite well and at times rather subtly. Sure, it’s violent, but it’s done, for the majority of the film, in such a way that evokes laughter. The fact that Belle knocks a girl out for stealing her pink pencil case is humorous. That in itself is a good enough reason to view the movie.

Editing: Editors are perhaps the most under appreciated members of a crew. Let’s talk about the Kuleshov Effect. Soviet filmmaker Lev Kuleshov had the idea of juxtaposing images in such a way that it changed the effect it had on the audience. Essentially, he asked Ivan Mosjoukine, who could be considered the USSR’s Matt Damon of the time, to sit in front of a camera for three minutes and keep a stoic expression. In the video, the actor’s face remained the same while three images were edited in with it: a deceased child, a bowl of soup, and a beautiful woman. Audiences raved at how powerful the actor’s reaction was to each instance, though it was only one take. That tells you how important editing is to a film. Julien Rey does a fantastic job with it and frames the story in a way that it’s entertaining, times the jokes perfectly, and one is able to truly enjoy the film for all its good points. Granted, I feel as though the movie could have completely cut out the scene where Fred goes to the movie debate and traded it in for more of De Niro’s exploration into their past, but one can’t edit what wasn’t shot.

Narration: Perhaps one of the greatest examples of narration through film is in Goodfellas. No, this movie isn’t comparable with any other mob film, but there’s a point. Ray Liotta and Lorraine Bracco provide such incredibly significant voiceovers for their characters in the movie and manage to reveal the exposition in a meaningful way that gets the audience invested in the characters, despite Henry’s horrible deeds. Though we don’t necessarily get as much background as you would imagine, there is a lot told about the content of Fred’s character through his inner monologue as he writes his memoirs that almost makes us empathize with his situation. The narration is powerful and gives the viewer insight into his life despite all the terrible things he’s done.

Score: Though I’m hardly an expert on what it means to create a great film score, I must praise Alexandre Mahout and the rest of the music department in addition to Evgueni and Sacha Galperine, who created the original score for it. I’ve found myself simply listening to the score during my leisure time. That’s the marking of a great soundtrack.

After sleeping on it and taking the time to reflect, I have to say that I’m impressed. Do I think it will win Academy Awards? No, probably not, despite my adoration for the cast. However, it’s a solid film that’s funny and definitely worth the ticket price. I think what potential viewers need to realize is that critics’ opinions are not the end all, be all for whether a movie is good or not. It’s different strokes for different folks. I’ve read a plethora of different reviews on The Family. To me, because this film doesn’t necessarily fit into the usual paradigm we’re used to seeing for mob movies, it has suffered in the eyes of the critics. It’s a hybrid movie, sure, but it’s a pretty good one. Make up your own mind about it.

Rating:
ComicsOnline gives The Family 4 out of 5 tennis rackets to the face.

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