In the Family (2011)
Average Rating: 8.3/10
Reviews Counted: 23
Fresh: 22 | Rotten: 1
No consensus yet.
Average Rating: 8/10
Critic Reviews: 11
Fresh: 10 | Rotten: 1
No consensus yet.
liked it
Average Rating: 4.2/5
User Ratings: 733
My Rating
Movie Info
In the town of Martin, Tennessee, Chip Hines, a precocious six year old, has only known life with his two dads, Cody and Joey. And a good life it is. When Cody dies suddenly in a car accident, Joey and Chip struggle to find their footing again. Just as they begin to, Cody's will reveals that he named his sister as Chip's guardian. The years of Joey's acceptance into the family unravel as Chip is taken away from him. In his now solitary home life, Joey searches for a solution. The law is not on
Cast
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Patrick Wang
Joey Williams -
Trevor St. John
Cody Hines -
Sebastian Brodziak
Chip Hines -
Park Overall
Sally Hines -
Brian Murray
Paul Hawks -
Susan Kellermann
Marge Hawks -
-
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In the Family Trailer & Photos
All Critics (26) | Top Critics (13) | Fresh (22) | Rotten (1)
To see it is to sit there for long stretches amazed at how clumsy, fake and misguided it is. But then, five minutes later you might easily be riveted and moved by its awkward brilliance.
Top CriticTrevor St. John is cute and broody-mouthed as the deceased lover; Wang, the movie's writer-director, is touchingly, disarmingly open; and the kid, Sebastian Banes, is adorable.
No doubt you've noticed the nearly three-hour runtime, but please don't let that dissuade you: Every moment counts in this gripping tale ...
As Wang holds us in rapt attention, not only with his steady pacing, but with the hard realism of the screenplay, the characters retain a coldness that never breaks.
Wang chooses gentle storytelling as a tool of persuasion rather than soap-box hectoring to make his point: that love - in all its forms - can transcend the greatest obstacles.
This deeply humanistic, profoundly touching work representing independent cinema at its finest should be seen by far wider audiences.
(Writer-director Patrick) Wang's deliberate, naturalistic style proves to be both a strength and a weakness. In the final analysis, the overall timeliness of Wang's storyline as well as the film's lack of sentimentality is of considerable value.
Despite its length and deliberate pacing, this is a film that is cathartic like no other film I have seen in a long time. An eloquent but non-propagandistic plea for gay rights.
Will remind viewers of the emotional tugs of a KRAMER VS. KRAMER.
Wang's unforced, contemplative approach seems like the perfect way to underline his message.
In the Family says very little and moves hardly at all, but it captures invisible rhythms in our lives as human beings that very few American movies ever get close to.
More than just a carefully-crafted exercise in naturalism and restraint - Family is a beautiful, bold, and staggeringly moving film.
Between the slow unfolding and the understated performances, experiencing this film is like being briefly dropped into someone else's life. In a good way.
The fact that the film paints Joey as such a resolutely good guy throughout robs it of a certain dramatic complexity.
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