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Wednesday, December 19, 2012
MOVIE REVIEW
In The Family
A Solemn Heartfelt Plea For Love And Justice
Patrick Wang as Joey and Trevor St. John as Cody, in "In The Family".
Mr. Wang wrote, directed, produced and distributed the epic drama.
In The Family Productions
by
Omar P.L. Moore/PopcornReel.com
FOLLOW
Wednesday, December 19,
2012
"In The Family", written,
directed, produced and self-distributed by Patrick Wang -- after 30 film
festival rejections over the last year -- is an eloquent story about family and
appealing to conscience to unify it. Directed in minimalist fashion, the
episodic film plays like discrete snapshots of everyday life. A story told
largely in flashbacks sees the plain, unassuming
Joey (Patrick Wang) and Cody (Trevor St. John) in a relationship for several
years. Cody's son Chip (Sebastian Banes) has become a son to Joey, who
becomes even more of a dad to Chip after Cody passes away.
Some members of Cody's family have always had an awkwardness with Joey, and
while it is not outwardly referenced (save for one line spoken by Cody's
mother), race is a concern for them. After Cody's unexpected departure
relations between Joey and Cody's family are strained when Chip, whom Joey cares
deeply for, is suddenly taken away. Since Mr. Wang's film presents its
scenes so simply and plainly the case for Joey cannot possibly be stronger.
Who else can be Chip's father? The rhetorical question doesn't mean that
Joey's road to seeking custody of Chip will be any less easy.
"In The Family" resists the clichés that films involving same-sex dramas all-too
easily resort to, but more importantly Mr. Wang's film isn't about same-sex
relationships nor is it a "same-sex drama". The events in "In The Family"
apply to any couple or situation involving children and custody battles.
Understated, even profound at times, Mr. Wang's film lays out its case clearly,
without appeals to sympathy or syrup.
There are some good performances from Brian Murray as Joey's lawyer, Peter
Hermann as Dave, Cody's brother and Elaine Bromka as Joey's neighbor Gloria.
These actors and Mr. Wang cultivate an atmosphere of tension for a film that
begins and ends at the right place. On the surface Elwaldo Baptiste's
editing feels underutilized but a closer look reveals strategic deliberation, as
much a part of the story of Joey's situation as anything else.
Full of discipline and a steady hand, Mr. Wang's intimate, heartfelt drama of
epic proportions is epic because it allows us to truly live and breathe with
these characters by inhabiting their space in the world and immersing ourselves
in their dilemmas, triumphs and disappointments. Silences linger.
Long takes with a stationary camera lend feeling, authenticity and
verisimilitude to real-life moments lived in real-time. Much of the film
feels like a home video shot on a clean surveillance camera, but not a beat of
it is false or exploitive. If it were not almost three hours long "In The
Family" would actually feel less genuine and less committed to its unmistakable
message.
Though same-sex marriage is now approved of by large swaths of the American
public Mr. Wang doesn't allow us to get to know Joey or Cody until the third
hour of the film, but throughout we know Joey's love for Chip (and Cody) is
precious and sincere. Mr. Wang wisely invests in an issues-first approach,
not a status analysis or anatomy of Joey and Cody's relationship. This
general approach makes "In The Family" more absorbing and compelling.
Since the director doesn't hit you over the head with specifics about Joey and
Cody any biases or predispositions one may bring to the film are mellowed or
thawed out. It is very easy to identify with Joey. There's a natural
law argument that Mr. Wang shrewdly uses -- that it merely makes sense, all the
sense in the world -- for Joey to be able to visit and gain custody of the child
he has taken care of and loved for several years.
I was riveted by this elementary and basic way of storytelling. Sometimes
on the big screen the best way to say something is to just say it, and "In The
Family" does so in a highly persuasive way. Mr. Wang's low-budget film,
set in Tennessee and shot in New York City, is playing in several U.S. cities.
You'll need a magnifying glass to find the film, but the Google search for it
will be well worth your while.
Also with: Susan Kellermann, Lisa Altomare, Eisa Davis, Juliette Angelo, Gina
Tognoni.
"In The Family" is not rated by the Motion
Picture Association Of America. It contains thematic material, and a brief
onscreen kiss between two men. The film's running time is two hours and
49 minutes.
COPYRIGHT 2012. POPCORNREEL.COM. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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