the family movie review

"The Family"

Life is tough in the Witness Protection Program. Life is pretty cushy, too, especially if you’re the Manzoni family in Luc Besson ‘s “ The Family “: you get to live in a quaint house in a tiny village in Normandy, you eat well, you have FBI guys stationed across the street 24/7, and you have a personal handler who makes sure that you and your loved ones are safe. The point of being in Normandy for the Manzonis is to somehow “pass” as regular Americans on holiday or sabbatical, and the Manzonis fail to manage this from the start, mainly because they are all raging maniacs.

“The Family” is a pretty uneven film, lurching from comedy to violence to sentiment, but it’s best when it sticks in the realm of flat-out farce. The pleasure comes in watching the actors ( Michelle Pfeiffer , in particular) submitting wholeheartedly to ridiculous situations. The film has a mix of influences and genres, obviously, and Besson plays with these and references them openly, but the farcical elements rest uneasily beside the violence, leaving the unmistakeable feeling that this is a film slightly at war with itself.

When dealing with the family’s adjustment (or lack thereof) to small-town French life, it is on sure (and often hilarious) footing. Giovanni Manzoni ( Robert De Niro ) snitched on his Mafia friends back in the States, and because of that there is now a $20 million price on his head. In exchange for his testimony, he and his family (wife and two teenage kids, Belle and Warren) are placed in the Witness Protection Program, under the control of FBI agent Robert Stansfield ( Tommy Lee Jones ). Maggie Manzoni (Pfeiffer) is already sick of the life in hiding, and has a tiny habit of blowing stuff up when she gets upset. Of course placing a well-known Mob boss into a tiny village in France doesn’t seem like the best strategy for the FBI, because the witness will stick out even more there, but you really can’t ask those questions when you watch “The Family.” The answers will not hold up under interrogation.

The film opens with the family (Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer, Dianna Agron , and John D’Leo) driving through the French countryside to yet another hideout since their cover was blown in the Riviera. The two kids loll bored in the back seat, Giovanni tries to tell everyone the new place will be fine, everything will be okay, the dog gets blamed for the bad smell in the car (when actually it is the stink of a dead corpse in the trunk, hidden there by Giovanni on his way out of Nice). This opening scene contains everything that is good and pleasurable about the film: watching Pfeiffer and De Niro act with one another, the weird juxtaposition of violence and everyday family matters, the family’s anxiety at being in France when they’d rather be in Brooklyn. You are lulled into a false sense that you understand what is going on here—that the father, Giovanni Manzoni (Robert De Niro) is the “wise guy,” and his family is just along for the ride. But the next couple of scenes explode that sense of safety (literally) as you realize that all of them, all four of them, are out of their minds.

Belle and Warren size up their new small-town school and promptly begin to wreak havoc among their peer group. In a matter of days, Warren has taken over 50% of the blackmarket cigarette business, as well as the prescription pill business, and when he is told by a teacher that his conduct has been poor, he says he wants a lawyer. On her first day, Belle accepts a ride home with four French guys who tell her they want to “practice their English,” and when she realizes that maybe they want more from her, she beats one of the guys to a pulp with a tennis racket. Played by “Glee”‘s Dianna Argon, Belle is a creepy character, gorgeous and innocent, but when she falls in love with her math tutor, you can’t get the image of her smashing the tennis racket into another human being’s face out of your mind. Meanwhile, Warren and Belle’s parents are oblivious to what’s happening in their children’s lives. Giovanni thinks he might try his hand at a memoir, not a smart move for someone who is supposed to be in hiding. Maggie visits a local church, trying to re-connect to her faith. Tommy Lee Jones shows up now and then to say it’s hard to protect them if they insist on breaking the plumber’s legs because he can’t fix the pipes.

De Niro could play this role in his sleep, but he’s fun to watch, especially in the scenes with Pfeiffer, and when his power is demeaned by his family’s shenanigans. In one awesome sequence, the curator of a local film group calls up Giovanni and asks if he wouldn’t come to their next meeting to have a nice debate on a great American film, Vincente Minnelli’s “Some Came Running” (starring Frank Sinatra as an aspiring writer with a tormented past). Against the advice of Stansfield, Giovanni accepts. The head of the film society tells him they were sent “ Goodfellas ” by mistake, so maybe the visiting American would have something to say about that? Boy, does he ever. It’s a giant wink to the audience, an inside joke, as we are treated to the bizarre vision of Robert De Niro as Giovanni Manzoni watching Robert De Niro as Jimmy in “Goodfellas.”

Pfeiffer’s performance is the reason to see the film, though. Calling back her show-stopping turn in “ Married to the Mob ,” her Maggie is both supportive and bored out of her mind, yearning towards her old Catholic faith but unrepentant about blowing stuff up. She cooks at the stove, her hair in gigantic curlers. She kneels in church, praying to Jesus with earnest eyes. Pfeiffer has been very good in dramatic material, but she might be a comedienne at heart. There’s one scene near the end of “The Family” where events are coming to a boil, buildings are exploding, and she crawls across the floor as quickly as she can clutching a gigantic kitchen knife. Her eyes are manic, wild, and yet also focused, like an assassin’s.

Luc Besson has built a career on stylish and thrilling action films, and “The Family” is a mess compared to such earlier efforts as “Le Femme Nikita” and “Léon: The Professional.” But for what it is, it works, while reminding us and again to not take it too seriously.

Sheila O'Malley

Sheila O’Malley received a BFA in Theatre from the University of Rhode Island and a Master’s in Acting from the Actors Studio MFA Program. Read her answers to our Movie Love Questionnaire here .

Michelle Pfeiffer as Maggie Blake
Vincent Pastore as Fat Willy
Jimmy Palumbo as DiCicco
Kresh Novakovic as Vincenze
John D’Leo as Warren Blake
Tommy Lee Jones as
Dianna Agron as Bella Blake
Robert De Niro as Fred Blake / Giovanni Manzoni
Joseph Perrino as Joey
Paul Borghese as Albert
Michael Caleo

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Luc Besson's The Family suffers from an overly familiar setup and a number of jarring tonal shifts.

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Gladiator 2 Rating Continues Ridley Scott's Franchise Trend From Original Movie

Invincible live-action movie development timeline gets clarifying update from robert kirkman, i know which classic legends villain i want sigourney weaver to play in star wars' next movie, there are certainly worse ways to spend two hours at the theater than by watching de niro play an old mobster in a self-reflexive action/comedy..

The Family revolves around the Manzonis, a notorious Mafia family that's been hiding out in and around France ever since the patriarch Giovanni (Robert De Niro) ratted out his fellow mobsters to the Feds. Giovanni and his wife Maggie (Michelle Pfeiffer), daughter Belle (Dianna Agron) and son Warren (John D'Leo) have been a constant thorn in the side of Witness Protection Program agent Robert Stansfield (Tommy Lee Jones) for the past ten years, since their habitual psychotic behavior is constantly blowing the U.S. government's covert operation.

Giovanni, now passing himself off as American Fred Blake, relocates with his family to the sleepy town of Normandy, where at first it seems as though the (former?) criminals will be able to settle down quietly and keep a low profile. However, as the saying goes, old habits die hard and soon enough all of the Manzonis start getting themselves into trouble - the kind that, sooner or later, is bound to earn unwanted attention from the hitmen looking to collect the bounty on Giovanni's head.

Filmmaker Luc Besson - director of La Femme Nikita and Léon: The Professional and co-writer/producer on the Transporter and Taken movies - is well established for the way he celebrates, yet also comments upon American crime/action genre tropes in his scripts - and The Family keeps with that tradition. Besson directed this project in addition to co-writing the adapted screenplay (drawing from Tonino Benacquista's novel, Malavita ), so the final movie product offers a more even blending of dark satire, social commentary, off-beat humor, moral substance and quirky aesthetics than some of the other films released under Besson's EuroCorp banner over the past decade.

Michelle Pfeiffer in The Family (Review)

On the surface, the tagline for Benacquista's source novel - "Imagine The Sopranos transplanted to the French countryside" - seems to be applicable to The Family , yet Besson's approach harkens back to the French New Wave, in the way his film riffs on and deconstructs the "Mobsters in suburbia" premise by shifting the action to the European countryside. The Family isn't Besson's strongest work, but he and co-writer Michael Caleo - who knows a thing or two about re-examining the gangster anti-hero myth after having worked as a story editor on The Sopranos - are successful in making a movie that's fun to watch and yet has something to say about the way that Hollywood glamorizes the mobster lifestyle.

The first two acts in Besson and Caleo's script revolve around the daily exploits of the Manzoni clan, before the narrative picks up speed and things come to a head in the third act. Story-wise, the film is most interesting when examining such issues as Europeans' obsession with American pop culture (another callback to the French New Wave), in addition to using dark humor to explore how a pure-blooded Mafia family might really act. However, although the third act is solid, it's not as sharp or biting as it had the potential to be in the way it comments on gangster movie tropes (beginning with an enormous plot coincidence that is not quite as self-aware as it might've been).

Dianna Agron and John D'Leo in The Family (Review)

On a related note, there's also a fair amount of self-reflexive material in the film, whether it's the casting of mobster genre king De Niro and Pfeiffer - who portrayed a gangster wife in Married to the Mob and/or Scarface - or the way that elements from the cinema of Martin Scorsese (an executive producer on The Family ) are referenced using a wry, but often sledgehammer manner. The best meta-jokes are also the most subtle ones - but even the on-the-nose shout-outs are forgivable, partly because the way they are handled often makes The Family feel more akin to a sly criticism than a love letter to Scorsese (and the latter's involvement with this movie suggests that he might even be okay with that).

De Niro and Pfeiffer are, likewise, good sports when it comes to how they riff on their screen legacies in The Family , while at the same time fleshing out their own characters so that they feel three-dimensional enough (within the context of the film's universe). Similarly, Agron often seems to be having the most fun, while she riffs on her ordinary American teen image from Glee and movies like I Am Number Four ; that holds true to a lesser extent with D'Leo, who plays the brilliant yet delinquent son in the story.

Jones plays his usual no-nonsense curmudgeon role here, but he at least seems to be comfortable with being in this movie (unlike some of his recent blockbuster appearances). Meanwhile, the supporting cast includes Jimmy Palumbo ( Man on a Ledge ), Domenick Lombardozzi ( The Wire ), Stan Carp ( Magic City ) and Vincent Pastore ( The Sopranos ) - all of whom get a moment or two to shine while playing variations on their well-worn cop/criminal personas, in keeping with the meta nature of The Family .

The Family doesn't represent Besson at his best, but here the filmmaker once again proves that he is a storyteller who knows how to produce European pop-art cinema that is far more delightful (and, in many ways, more intelligent) than you might expect, based on the film's sitcom-style description. There are certainly worse ways to spend two hours at the theater than by watching De Niro play an old Mobster in a self-reflexive action/comedy (emphasis on the comedy) made by an eccentric French autuer.

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The Family is now playing in U.S. theaters. It is 110 minutes long and is Rated R for violence, language and brief sexuality.

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DVD & Streaming
Comedy , Drama

Content Caution

In Theaters

September 13, 2013
Robert De Niro as Fred Blake/Giovanni Manzoni; Michelle Pfeiffer as Maggie Blake; Dianna Agron as Belle Blake; John D'Leo as Warren Blake; Tommy Lee Jones as Robert Stansfield

Home Release Date

December 17, 2013

Distributor

Relativity Media

Movie Review

Everyone’s got a story. We’re all central characters in our own narratives filled with drama, action, passion and comedy. Some folks even write their stories down, believing that they might be of interest to others.

That’s great. Nothing wrong with that at all—unless you’re in the Witness Protection Program. Then it’s probably not such a hot idea.

Giovanni Manzoni and his family have been in the program for years now. Ever since Giovanni ratted on his other family (that’d be the Mafia), this ex-wiseguy’s been running and hiding from his former associates with the help of FBI agent Robert Stansfield, who does his best to keep Giovanni and his family alive.

It’s not easy. The family business is in the Manzoni blood, and they’re never in a place very long before some (ahem) unfortunate tendencies resurface. When suspicions and neighborhood body counts start to rise, Robert and his operatives swoop in and move the Manzonis somewhere safer.

So now Giovanni’s had more aliases than Sean Combs. His latest? Fred Blake, to go along with a new place to live: Normandy, France. Here, in this bucolic locale, Robert hopes that the Manzo— er, the Blakes, can find some peace and stability. That they can make it even a few months without whacking the delivery man or extorting money from the high school basketball team. Maybe Fred, his lovely wife Maggie, daughter Belle and son Warren will learn that life need not end after you stop stuffing horse heads into people’s beds.

But that’s a deal the Manzonis just can’t take.

They haven’t been in town three days before Maggie blows up a supermarket (after hearing some patrons gossip about boorish Americans), Belle beats a classmate with a tennis racquet (for flirting with her) and Warren’s formulated a plan to become a crime kingpin at the local high school.

And Fred? He finds a typewriter and decides to write his memoires.

Yeah, he doesn’t seem like such a wise guy now, does he?

Positive Elements

In his autobiography, Fred details his good points—how he’s a man of his word, how he never looks for scapegoats, how he never inflicts violence needlessly. But since many of those qualities still leave others grievously injured, let’s skip on to a quality he doesn’t write about: his love for his family. Fred does what he can to keep those he cares about safe and, at times, he feels guilty because of the difficult position he’s put them in. His family seems to love him back. Indeed, at the end of the movie, he says that their shared experiences in Normandy brought the whole family closer.

Fred and Robert, in contrast, are not so loving. In fact, they kinda hate each other. Yet Robert’s worked all these years to keep Fred safe, and they’ve gotten to know each other so well that they’ve developed a certain begrudgingly affectionate bond. Fred admits to Robert that he probably hates him more than anyone else, but he also considers him a friend.

Spiritual Elements

Maggie goes to a Catholic church and prays before a stained-glass window of Jesus. She admits to Him that her family can be a little exasperating, and she begs for His mercy. She pleads with Jesus to guide her children, that they might become better people. “I can’t do it all on my own,” she says. “Amen.”

A priest notices that Maggie often comes to pray, but that she never comes to Mass. He invites her into the confessional booth and—after the priest promises that whatever secrets pass in confession stay secret—she accepts, and the confession seems to help her.

Later, however, she’s not welcome when she returns to the church again. The priest demands that she leave, saying that she and her family must be in league with evil and Satan. “Leave this holy place for the love of God!” he shouts.

Sexual & romantic Content

Belle, 17, falls in love with a college-age math scholar and loses her virginity to him. In a classroom, they have sex against the wall (with explicit noises and movements). Later, he tells Belle it was just a “moment” for him. But for her part, she says, “I gave you my heart and soul. Love was the only thing that could take me away from my crazy life, and you crushed it.” Belle is also given a ride by classmates to a park, where one of them tells her he’d like to get to know her better—playing with her bra strap as he says it. She’s having none of it and beats him severely with a tennis racquet.

We see glimpses of pornographic pictures and hear a discussion about a “Miss April.” When Maggie hears about Belle’s private tutoring sessions with a guy, she smiles and asks, “You have condoms at least?” When Belle says the two of them are not having sex (and they’re not at the time), Maggie recalls her first sexual experience with Fred in a church.

Fred and Maggie make out in the living room as a prelude to sex (which is hinted at but not shown).

Violent Content

Fred says at one point, “All my sadistic urges are satisfied when I hurt a person for a good reason.” And so he comes up with a lot of “good” reasons.

The family drives to Normandy with a dead body in the car (a secret only known by Fred and his dog). In the dead of night, Fred buries the plastic-wrapped, blood-covered corpse. When a plumber yanks him around a little, Fred takes a baseball bat to the man’s legs. And when the bat breaks, he announces he’s not finished and grabs a hammer. (Fred then takes the man to the hospital and looks over the doctors’ shoulders as they view X-rays of his broken bones.)

Another guy Fred tangles with gets tied to the back of a car and dragged around for a while. (We see the bloody aftermath.) In flashback, we see Fred beat up one guy and dip another in acid. He fantasizes about pushing a guest’s head onto a barbecue grill, stuffing large, flaming coals down someone else’s mouth and slamming yet another person’s fingers in a drawer. He blows up part of a fertilizer factory.

When the Mafia discovers the whereabouts of Fred’s family, one of the thugs tells Maggie that, because of a Mafia code, he has to “dirty” her first—meaning he’s required to rape her before killing her. He’s just beginning to unbuckle his pants (we see his boxers) when Fred, then Maggie, choke and stab him.

Other Mafia thugs raise a ruckus too. One shoots a family of four in cold blood (thinking they’re the Manzonis). Another family lies dead shortly after the same man questions them. A gang guns down police officers and a fireman. And in the climactic gun battle, several folks are shot and killed. One baddie blows up Fred’s house with a rocket. We see bodies covered in bullet holes and blood.

Warren is initially bullied at school, kicked repeatedly by four guys in a bathroom and left bleeding, bruised and barely able to move. Then he turns the tables and gets some new high school henchmen to beat the stuffing out of his one-time assailants. Warren himself participates with a baseball bat.

As mentionied, Maggie blows up a grocery store. A dog attacks a man. A lackey cuts the finger off a corpse—a finger that turns up again later. A despondent, perhaps suicidal teen seems ready to throw herself off a tall building. Someone’s kicked in the groin. We hear about how someone was killed with a 2X4.

Crude or Profane Language

Warren wonders aloud to Belle why their father would try to write a memoir “when he could express the entire range of human emotion with just one word.” That word, of course, is the f-word, and it’s used about 40 times. The s-word tags along with a tally of about 10. God’s name is misused at least five times (once paired with “d‑‑n”), and Jesus’ name is abused three or four times as well. The growing list is rounded out with “a‑‑,” “b‑‑ch,” “b‑‑tard,” “h‑‑‑” and “p‑‑‑.”

Drug and Alcohol Content

Characters smoke cigarettes and drink wine, champagne, beer and hard liqour. Maggie smokes a marijuana joint. As part of his burgeoning underworld empire, Warren sells pills (apparently for sexual stamina) and worms his way into a tobacco-selling racket.

Other noteworthy Elements

As mentioned, Warren creates his own little bag-guy empire at school. He’s dragged before the school board and confronted with a list of the terrible deeds he’s committed, ranging from extortion to bullying (students and teachers alike). After he leaves the meeting he decides to run away from home, go to Paris and get involved in the “family business.” His sister talks about similar plans (though running away ultimately isn’t her real intent).

“You’re the best dad anybody could ask for,” Belle says, wrapping her arms around Fred’s neck.

“Really?”

“F‑‑‑ yeah,” she says.

And that pretty much sums up The Family in one perversely tender, obscenity-addled package. Still, there are a few more things I probably need to mention:

Just as Fred tried to be a good dad, The Family may have tried, at one point, to be a good movie. Maybe this was supposed to be a story about a family coming closer together in the midst of struggle. Maybe we were supposed to see the children grow a little more mature. Maybe we were supposed to notice Fred change deep down, to see him realize that his real family is so much more valuable than the Mafia he used to call his family. Maybe one of these characters, somehow, somewhere, was supposed to have changed and grown, even just a little.

And every once in a while, we do glimpse hints that some of these themes might’ve been in the movie … once. But if they were ever there, somewhere along the line they were dropped like a pair of concrete galoshes, leaving the movie to flounder and sink, both in terms of its story and its morality. In the end, there’s no purpose to much of anything here, really. No reason for the bodies or blood or brutality or 40 f-words.

It’s true that everyone has a story—but this isn’t much of a story at all. And what there is of it doesn’t deserve to be told.

Paul Asay has been part of the Plugged In staff since 2007, watching and reviewing roughly 15 quintillion movies and television shows. He’s written for a number of other publications, too, including Time, The Washington Post and Christianity Today. The author of several books, Paul loves to find spirituality in unexpected places, including popular entertainment, and he loves all things superhero. His vices include James Bond films, Mountain Dew and terrible B-grade movies. He’s married, has two children and a neurotic dog, runs marathons on occasion and hopes to someday own his own tuxedo. Feel free to follow him on Twitter @AsayPaul.

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The Family (2013)

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(PaPa, C, B, Ro, FR, AB, LLL, VVV, SS, A, D, MM) Strong pagan, slightly mixed, worldview with some Christian elements (including a seemingly sincere prayer to Jesus), some moral elements, some Romantic elements, and, of course, some pagan elements, plus kindly Catholic priest urges wife of former mob boss to confess, but he didn’t know her past and is so outraged about all the evils and sin in her life and that of her family that he kicks her out of the next church service, so there’s an undercurrent of false religion or works righteousness in his reaction that could be interpreted as Anti-Christian or present him in a somewhat negative light; about 67 obscenities (including many “f” words), three strong profanities, five light profanities; some very strong and lots of strong violence with some blood (some off screen) includes point blank shootings, hitman shoots a whole family to death, hitman shoots another family, hitmen kill all the policemen in a small station in a small French village, innocent bystanders shot to death, children use guns to defend themselves from hitmen, man strangles one hitman, hitmen shoot to death two FBI agents, 17-year-old girl contemplates suicide after being rejected, man buries dead body, a couple bloody corpses, man beats up cheating plumber with baseball bat, image of man’s face all scraped up, woman gets revenge on mean grocery owner by planting small bomb in storage area, teenager boys beat up other teenage boys, teenage girl beats boy with his tennis racket, man imagines putting face of one rude man on barbecue grill, man imagines crunching mayor’s hand in a drawer, and hitmen blow up house and endanger family dog, man hit with speeding car; depicted but clothed sex between 17-year-old high school student and college student, kissing, man flirts with his wife on couch, teenage boys make advances on teenage girl and she reprimands them, telling them to treat girls nice after she pummels one boy with his tennis racket; no nudity; alcohol use; smoking; and, revenge, extortion, high school black market, man in witness protection program rebels against FBI constraints, bending the rules in school, bullying.

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THE FAMILY is a very entertaining comedy thriller about a former mob boss and his family who just can’t seem to control their sinful, criminal, violent urges. The movie is very well done by all concerned, including talented French writer and director Luc Besson, but the foul language and immorality are over-the-top, or excessive.

In the story, Robert DeNiro plays former mob boss Giovanni Manzoni. He and his wife, Maggie (Michelle Pfeiffer), and their two teenage children, Belle and Warren (Dianna Agron and John D’Leo), are in the FBI’s witness protection program. However, they always blow their cover because they just can’t seem to resist their old ways of dealing with problems, including stealing, intimidation, violence, and even murder. They’re usually able to cover their tracks, but eventually one of them gets caught, especially Giovanni, who’s sometimes unable to control his temper in public.

The movie opens with the Manzonis posing as the Bakers in a very small French village in Normandy after leaving safe havens in America, Paris and the South of France. Their FBI handler, Robert Stansfield (Tommy Lee Jones), urges Giovanni, aka Fred Baker, to keep a low profile. Better said than done.

Giovanni suddenly decides that he’d like to write his memoirs, just to take stock of his life. Also, when the local plumber can’t seem to help the Bakers get rid of the brown water coming out of their faucet, he decides to take action. Beating up people turns out to be Giovanni’s way of getting rid of a problem.

Meanwhile, his two children also take matters into their own hands when confronted by bullies and French teenagers with raging hormones. Soon, the son is bullying the bullies and helping to run the local high school’s black market in cigarettes and extortion. Also, his wife plants a small bomb in the local grocery when the owners use French to mock her behind her back. They don’t realize that Maggie already knows French.

The son makes a mistake by running a small funny story in the local paper about a joke that two of the mobsters now after his family once told at a family barbecue. One of the mobsters recognizes the story and sends a squad of hitmen to the village.

Will the family’s past finally catch up with them? Or, can they band together and survive the coming violent deluge?

THE FAMILY is a very funny comedy thriller with an exciting, but violent, finish that has its own share of laughs. Its script is very well structured and the performances are mostly delightful. It’s also a loving homage to the gangster movie. In fact, some of the best gangster movies have been comedies, such as John Ford’s THE WHOLE TOWN’S TALKING with the great Edward G. Robinson and Jean Arthur or ROBIN AND THE SEVEN HOODS with the incomparable Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Bing Crosby, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Peter Falk.

Sadly, however, THE FAMILY isn’t at all as wholesome as those classics. Thus, there’s lots of strong foul language, some very strong violence, and a gratuitous sex scene where the 17-year-old daughter seduces a young college student working briefly as a teaching assistant and math tutor at the high school. The daughter has decided that she’s in love with the man and wants to marry him, but she’s obviously got the cart before the horse. Later, when the man rebuffs her and says he’s not ready for marriage, she decides to commit suicide until she spies the hitmen coming to kill her family one evening.

The daughter’s fascination with finding the true love of her life is partly Romantic and partly moral. Her seductive behavior, however, is immoral and pagan. The rest of the movie reflects this mixed pagan worldview. This mixture includes a lot of pagan behaviors, some moral behavior, and even some Christian references. For example, at the end, the family must stick together in order to save itself from its own mistakes and the evil men coming to kill them after killing some policemen, a fireman, and a couple neighbors. Also, at one point, the wife and mother sincerely prays to Jesus in a church and asks Jesus to help her family. This brief Christian moment is later undercut when the older, kindly priest kicks her out of a mass after he’s learned in Confession about all her sins.

Ultimately, therefore, while THE FAMILY is a very entertaining, funny, suspenseful, and even masterful piece of filmmaking, with a few redeeming qualities, some of its content is too excessive and immoral. So, THE FAMILY turns out to be unacceptable filmmaking, morally and spiritually.

“Can … a leopard its spots? Neither can you do good who are accustomed to doing evil.”

– Jeremiah 13:23 (NIV).

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

– 2 Chronicles 7:14 (NIV).

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Common Sense Says
Parents Say 2 Reviews
Kids Say 1 Review

Common Sense Media Review

Language, drinking in affecting comedy about acceptance.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 15+?

Frequent strong language includes "f--k," "s--t," "bitch," "p---y," "ass," and "

An adult handles stress by drinking; she gulps down wine, shots, cocktails. One

Brief conversation about using two condoms for birth control (a character correc

Viewers hear how violent a group of Juggalos is (talk of them stabbing each othe

Any Positive Content?

Mixed messages about women and girls (a set of middle school bullies is insulted

Kate is selfish and painfully blunt, but softens over course of movie, acknowled

Frequent strong language includes "f--k," "s--t," "bitch," "p---y," "ass," and "bulls--t." A middle school-age child is called a "loser," and others are called "dogs" and "freaks."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

An adult handles stress by drinking; she gulps down wine, shots, cocktails. One scene shows many cocktails being downed. A character shows up drunk at a school; she takes a Lyft there and is driven by a sober friend so she doesn't drive drunk. At a gathering of Juggalos, people smoke joints and share large bongs; a character talks about being addled because she's on a lot of drugs.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Brief conversation about using two condoms for birth control (a character correctly says that it's safer to use just one) and some talk about dating. Two characters seem headed toward a romance at the end of the movie, but they never kiss.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Violence & Scariness

Viewers hear how violent a group of Juggalos is (talk of them stabbing each other and damaging public property, and viewers see them fistfighting), but they ultimately emerge as sweet eccentrics who drop everything to search for a lost kid. A bullied girl fights back against her foes by kicking one so hard she falls down; the kicker is then suspended from school. A woman is injured by a closing garage door.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Positive Messages

Mixed messages about women and girls (a set of middle school bullies is insulted for being "dogs" and "bitches," and one girl is said to have a "lazy eye"), but also very sweet messages about empathy, unity, importance of feeling like you belong, being true to yourself, understanding that most people feel like "freaks" inside no matter what they look like outside.

Positive Role Models

Kate is selfish and painfully blunt, but softens over course of movie, acknowledges her faults and need to be kinder. Adults are deeply involved with the young characters. Even though bullied middle school girl joins a socially reviled group with off-putting outward attributes, viewers see that the group accepts her as she is, cares for her. Some stereotyping, including middle school "mean girls" group. An adult woman calls them "dogs," says they don't have right to pick on others because they're so unattractive. At 11, Maddie is empathetic toward others: When told that it should make her happy to shop for a dress when there are poor kids who can't, she logically answers, "Why would that make me happy? It just makes me sad those kids are poor." A mom who thinks "karate is for boys" learns better. Characters are diverse in race, ethnicity, gender, body type.

Parents need to know that Family is about a selfish, blunt workaholic ( Taylor Schilling ) whose unexpected week with her middle school-age niece (Bryn Vale) changes her in important ways. The main characters learn to have empathy for each other and for themselves, and both make positive changes in their lives. A girl who feels like she doesn't fit in is bullied by a group of female classmates who are then spoken of in stereotypical terms (as "dogs," "bitches," and "mean girls"); the girl ultimately defeats them by kicking one to the ground (she's suspended for it). At the same time, the girl also finds a group of friends who accept her for who she is. Despite some iffy choices, those friends are eventually revealed to be kind-hearted, thoughtful, and caring (even if viewers see them shrieking, punching each other, and sharing giant bongs). In other scenes, adults guzzle wine and cocktails; they don't usually appear drunk, but in one scene a character does show up drunk at a school. Frequent strong language includes "f--k," "s--t," "bitch," "p---y," "ass," "bulls--t"; several characters are also called (or call themselves) "freaks." There's no sex or romance, but there's a brief joke involving condoms and suggestions of the potential for romance between two characters. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

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Parent and Kid Reviews

Parents say (2)
Kids say (1)

Based on 2 parent reviews

This is a 5 year old movie

What's the story.

Kate ( Taylor Schilling ) has her eyes on the prize at work and doesn't have a lot of time for FAMILY. But when her brother ( Eric Edelstein ) and sister-in-law ( Allison Tolman ) have to leave town for an emergency, Kate's the only one available to take care of her 11-year-old niece, Maddie (Bryn Vale). Kate figures she can hold things together as usual, despite a challenging period at work. But Maddie's a kid who needs help -- and, luckily, she finds it, thanks to Kate and a friendly group of local Juggalos (followers of the band Insane Clown Posse).

Is It Any Good?

It churns through plenty of cinematic clichés along the way, but ultimately this comedy gets to a place of genuine sweetness -- in a gathering of the Juggalos, of all places. Viewers will instantly recognize Schilling's Kate from the first scenes: She's tightly wound, all business, with no time for friends or family. "I have a habit of saying things that everyone is thinking, but then someone's always like 'Why did you say that?' so I'm usually in the place where I hate myself but also think I'm better than everybody else," she sums up to Maddie. We know, by the way, that Maddie will be the driving force of Kate's story arc, because of course Kate has to change by the time the credits roll, or why else would she be dressed in pristine white silk shirts and frowning? So change she does, and in all the ways you imagine she will -- but the magic of Family is that it's done with such artistry that it transcends the trite setup.

Maddie is a weird kid, but the movie's not laughing at her -- even though her true friends wind up being Juggalos who hang out in front of a mini mart playing a recorder. We feel the pain of her differentness from the kids at school, as well as her joy at finding a group that accepts her as she is -- and an aunt who can help her feel comfortable and supported in choosing to stand out rather than trying fruitlessly to fit in. Maddie's new friends, as Kate tells Maddie's worried mom, "play with their spit, and all their songs are about stabbing people, but once you get beyond that, they're really kind of sweet." And, without giving away the ending, it's true. No, it's not realistic, but Family gets at a real feeling: the wonder of finding your people. And clichéd as it is, it's awfully affecting.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about how Family compares to other family-centered movies. Does the content seem more or less realistic than others'? How is this family different from other movie families?

Is it ever OK to use stereotypes as a way of portraying characters? Do you see any stereotypes in this movie? Do the characters ultimately affirm or upend their stereotypes?

How do the characters in Family demonstrate empathy ? Why are these important character strengths ?

How does the movie portray drinking ? Are there realistic consequences? Why does that matter?

Movie Details

In theaters : April 19, 2019
On DVD or streaming : July 16, 2019
Cast : Taylor Schilling , Brian Tyree Henry , Kate McKinnon , Bryn Vale
Director : Laura Steinel
Inclusion Information : Female directors, Female actors, Black actors, Lesbian actors
Studio : The Film Arcade
Genre : Comedy
Character Strengths : Empathy
Run time : 85 minutes
MPAA rating : R
MPAA explanation : language, some sexual content and drug use
Last updated : July 27, 2024

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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The Patriarchal Allure of The Family

A new Netflix series delves into a shadowy religious group with long-standing political ties to Washington. Is it as powerful as the show suggests?

David Rysdahl plays the journalist Jeff Sharlet in Netflix's "The Family."

In 2007, Senator John Ensign of Nevada was a glittering star in the Republican firmament, with a maple-syrup tan, born-again bona fides, and presidential ambitions. He was one of a handful of congressmen who lived in a C Street row house owned by an organization known as “the Fellowship,” an unorthodox group home that the New Yorker once likened to a frat house for Jesus. The Fellowship’s members crossed party lines, but they had a few things in common. They were male. They were white. They paid a token fee to occupy rooms rented out by a nebulous faith group that encouraged them to believe that they had been chosen as leaders by God himself, and that none but God could judge them.

For Ensign, at least, it didn’t quite work out that way. In 2009, he was forced to confess that he’d been having an extramarital affair with the wife of his staffer and friend Doug Hampton. Then it emerged that Ensign’s parents had given the Hamptons a “gift” of $96,000 after Hampton discovered the affair, while Ensign had helped Hampton get a lobbying job at a Nevada-based consulting group. Ensign moved out of the C Street house, and his fellow Republican senators reportedly distanced themselves from him. He left office in 2011 and returned to working as a veterinarian in Las Vegas, where he also volunteers for a charity offering low-cost spaying and neutering services. There are some ignominious second acts in American politics, but the path from one of Jesus’s own representatives on Earth to a humble agent in the fight against animal overpopulation nevertheless stands out.

But what happened to the Fellowship? The Family , a five-part documentary series by Jesse Moss that debuted on Netflix earlier this month, makes the case that this shadowy religious organization best known for the moral incontinence of some of its members is actually one of the most nefarious operations in American politics. Based in large part on the 2008 book of the same name by Jeff Sharlet, The Family draws a through line from the Fellowship to President Donald Trump, casting the latter as a crucial component in the Fellowship’s quest for global domination. Members of Congress, Moss and Sharlet argue, are secretly lobbying for an invisible organization that’s been “hiding in plain sight” for the past eight decades. The Fellowship, Sharlet says in one scene, is “the darkest expression of religious life that I’ve found in 20 years.” (It’s hard to hear this quote and not immediately think about a few other potential contenders .)

Over four and a bit hours, The Family tries to expose an institution whose most prized currency has always been secrecy, delving into its origins at the hands of a Norwegian minister and fervent capitalist, its ties to some of the world’s nastiest autocrats, its more recent amity with Russia, and its eager embrace of Trump as a “wolf-king” who can change the course of history. Moss embraces the stylistic trappings of conspiratorial exposés to tell his story—dramatic reenactments, a plinky and faintly menacing piano score, selective splicing of clips featuring Maria Butina and Muammar Qaddafi. And yet, as the series continues, it’s unclear whether the Fellowship is as powerful as it would like to be, or whether its aura of mystery is its most distinct asset. In one interview, Doug Coe, the Fellowship’s former longtime leader, is likened to the Wizard of Oz, the enigmatic architect of a kingdom. But Oz was also just a man behind a curtain with a prodigious gift for self-aggrandizement. At times, The Family ’s willingness to buy into the Fellowship’s mythology to tell a more compelling story seems to distract the show from the core of the real con.

In 2002, Sharlet was only beginning to carve out a career as a writer when he applied to live at Ivanwald, a sort of dormitory in suburban Washington, D.C., for young men of faith whose backgrounds implied both privilege and political connections. Sharlet had recently met with a friend, Luke, a “promising guy” with an upper-middle-class upbringing and a “fine trajectory to his life,” who’d abandoned everything to join what his family feared was a cult. Luke told Sharlet that this was nonsense, and that he was simply living with a bunch of other guys who were followers of Jesus. He invited Sharlet to join them. Moss re-creates this interaction with actors, and in the scene, the dramatized Luke has the kind of vacant smile on his face that implies either total spiritual and emotional peace or devotion to Charles Manson .

Ivanwald, Sharlet found out, was an enclave where young Christian men could eat meat, study the Gospels, play basketball, and be indoctrinated into a group that promised them exceptionalism. Coe, the purported leader of the Fellowship, had long expressed admiration for the ways in which leaders engendered loyalty through brotherhood, citing Hitler, Mao, and the Mafia as inspiration. The residents of Ivanwald learned to be humble by submitting to God and doing menial work. The Fellowship, in the meantime, was building relationships with people in power, establishing an 8,000-square-foot townhouse in D.C. where Fellowship-affiliated congressmen could live, hosting the National Prayer Breakfast once a year, and making overtures to world leaders with the capacity to advance a Christian agenda.

The first episode largely re-creates Sharlet’s account of his exposure to Ivanwald, in scenes that (despite casting James Cromwell as Coe) aren’t nearly as compelling as the talking-head analysis of what’s actually going on. The second breaks down the two scandals that threatened to derail the C Street house: Ensign’s very public affair, and South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford’s admission in 2009 that he’d also been unfaithful, in a speech that outed the Fellowship as a “Christian bible study” group that Sanford had been leaning on for support. (In doing so, Sharlet explains, Sanford violated the first rule of C Street, which is never to talk about C Street.) The revelation that not one but two Republican members of a shadowy faith group had fallen from grace led to feverish speculation about the Fellowship, including a lengthy 2010 New Yorker feature that likened the group to “a kind of theocratic Blackwater.”

Moss delves into the Fellowship’s history, and along the way provides a fascinating portrait of an organization that seems uniquely motivated by power. The Ivanwald approach to Christianity, Sharlet reveals, is a limited one—the organization has only minimal interest in the Bible and leans on an unorthodox interpretation of Jesus as a brawny avatar of alpha masculinity, a kind of spiritual Navy SEAL or post-career Peyton Manning. Jesus, in the Fellowship’s eyes, isn’t the Lamb of God so much as a license to expand and project patriarchal power. The young men of Ivanwald are told repeatedly that they’ve been chosen by God to be future leaders, significant cogs in a worldwide spiritual offensive. Coe, meanwhile, uses the truism that Jesus sat down with sinners to justify building dubious relationships with genocidal tyrants such as Omar al-Bashir, General Suharto, and Siad Barre. “Most of my friends are bad people,” Coe once said. In the period after the Soviet Union was dismantled, he visited 16 bloc countries in 16 days.

In its third episode, The Family explores the recent ties between the Christian right and Vladimir Putin’s Russia. (Doug Burleigh, one of the Fellowship’s current leaders, was interviewed by the FBI about his dealings with the convicted Russian agent Maria Butina .) The fourth details the Fellowship’s previous relationships with dictators, and its ongoing attempts to enforce “Christian” and anti-LGBTQ policies in countries such as Romania, with gay marriage in the United States seeming at this point like a lost battle. Along the way, Fellowship-affiliated congressmen seem depressingly eager to embrace strongmen under the pretense of Jesus’s name. Senator James Inhofe tells the Nigerian dictator Sani Abacha that he “loves him.” Representative Mark Siljander travels to Libya, where he asks Qaddafi for forgiveness for the U.S. bombing that killed his daughter. (Siljander was later sentenced to a year in prison for accepting stolen funds from a charity with ties to terrorism.)

Almost everything Moss details is egregious: the elected representatives working not for their constituents, but in the service of an unaccountable faith leader with a yen for global bully boys, one who is so willing to build back-channel relationships with foreign regimes that he is, in Sharlet’s words, either hopelessly cynical or hopelessly naive. The “rhetorical self-empretzelment,” in one observer’s words, that leads evangelical Christians to embrace Trump not because of his principles, but because of the brute force that he represents. Still, it’s hard to believe after five episodes that the Fellowship has more political influence than any K Street lobbying shop or Christian coalition. Its most prized stars, Ensign and Sanford, now languish in the shadows, although Sanford apparently still believes so fervently in his own status as a predestined leader that he’s even now considering a run for president .

What’s almost more interesting about the Fellowship are the elements that Moss notes but doesn’t dig into. This is a group that sees privilege as potential, whiteness as power, masculinity as proof of leadership prospects. In the first episode, Sharlet describes how Ivanwald had an equivalent arm for women, Potomac Point, but while the young men were being groomed for future authority, the women were being “mentored in service” and directed toward future relationships with Ivanwald members. The Family similarly hints at the extent to which the Fellowship identifies whiteness as a pivotal component of God’s chosen agents. One member, former Representative Zach Wamp of Tennessee, says on camera that the group needs to diversify. And yet Russia remains idealized by both the religious right and white nationalists , presumably not just for its supposedly muscular leadership and “traditional values.”

The Family seems to think it’s only telling a compelling story if the Fellowship is actually a potent political force. But there’s something fascinating, and tragic, in the way it documents a group of ordinary men so easily convinced that they’re exceptional, even to the point of being handpicked by God like ripe fruit in a celestial grocery store. It’s a thread in contemporary politics that runs all the way to Number One Observatory Circle, if not the White House. That politicians are, instead, chosen by voters is an inconvenient fact that keeps interrupting so many careers. But it is, nevertheless, a fact, and one that Ensign, Sanford, Siljander, Wamp, and so many of their former congressional colleagues each has to attest to.

About the Author

The Family Puts a Secret Organization in the Spotlight, But Could Use Stronger Wattage

The Family , a new Netflix docuseries that digs into the purpose and influence of a clandestine Christian organization, highlights and connects some important dots regarding the religious right and American politics. But by the end, the viewer is left with only a basic outline, as opposed to a full picture, of what the Family, also known as the Fellowship, is really about.

The five-part docuseries, based on the books The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power and C Street: The Fundamentalist Threat to American Democracy by Jeff Sharlet, who serves as a frequent on-camera interview subject, traces the history of the group, which was presided over for several decades by the well-connected Doug Coe. Coe believed the work of Jesus was most effectively done out of the public eye — “The more you can make your organization invisible, the more influence it will have,” he says in a speech — and created a network of highly influential people, in Washington and beyond, who quietly prayed together and, according to the docuseries, attempted to influence policy through back channels.

The National Prayer Breakfast, an annual event attended at least once by every sitting president dating back to Dwight D. Eisenhower, is sponsored by the Fellowship, and brings thousands of leaders and influencers from around the world to Washington, D.C. every February, ostensibly for spiritual reasons. But as The Family notes, political connections are a pretty blatant byproduct. “If I were a bad-faith actor from another country, that is exactly the kind of meeting that I would want to exploit,” says Jack Jenkins, a reporter for Religion News Service. Some allegedly have; Marina Butina , the Russian woman who pleaded guilty last year to acting as an illegal foreign agent, attended the event.

But the Fellowship’s vast, complicated web extends far beyond the National Prayer Breakfast. As the docuseries notes, a townhouse not far from Capitol Hill dubbed C Street houses a handful of representatives and subsidizes much of their living expenses. It is owned by a foundation connected to the Fellowship and, the series implies, helps foster the idea that these leaders have not merely been elected, but were chosen to do God’s work.

The Family also outlines relationships the Fellowship has brokered over the years with leaders overseas, including controversial figures such as former Libyan Prime Minister Muammar Qaddafi, through the guise of spreading Christianity, particularly to those the Fellowship believed it could “save.” Even if you’re charitable enough to believe that their intentions — as some members of the Family insist — are purely in the name of Christ, the mere fact that members of congress have engaged in such behavior, even in an unofficial capacity, makes it problematic. “If you go off to meet with a head of state, you can’t suddenly become unofficial,” says journalist Lisa Getter, who wrote about the Fellowship for the L.A. Times. “And that’s what they were doing.” (Full disclosure: Getter, who acts as a source for the series, is a neighbor and friend of mine.)

Clearly, The Family is trying to run a lot of threads through the needle here, and director Jesse Moss, who directed the excellent documentary The Overnighters , lets some of them hang a little too loosely. The series starts off on somewhat odd and shaky footing with a first episode that focuses a lot of time — I would argue too much — on Sharlet’s experience in his twenties, living at Ivanwald, the equivalent of a Christian fraternity house in Arlington, Virginia, with ties to the Family. That episode toggles — more than any of the others — between a standard documentary approach and scripted reenactments that star David Rysdahl as a young Sharlet and James Cromwell as Coe. While it provides some context about what may drive a person to seek the fellowship of the Fellowship, its unorthodox approach distracts from understanding the nuts and bolts of this complicated story.

Even after watching all five episodes, I was left feeling like I still couldn’t fully wrap my arms around the implications of what I’d just consumed. It wasn’t that there’s no “there” there — there’s more than enough “there” — but Moss leaves out some crucial pieces of the puzzle that would make it complete. For example, the series doesn’t make clear that, historically, Democrats have been involved in the Fellowship, too, nor does it explain what role, if any, Democrats currently play in the organization. (That latter issue may have been difficult to uncover given the group’s notorious secrecy.)

Moss also adopts a bit of “both sides-ism” by including footage of current members, such as former representative Zach Wamp of Tennessee, talking about how they’d like to diversify the largely white, male organization and make it more transparent. But within the footage of Wamp speaking, he intersperses imagery of Qaddafi, Butina, and former Michigan representative Mark Siljander, a Fellowship affiliate who pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and acting as an unregistered foreign agent, due to his lobbying work on behalf of a suspected terrorist organization. Those images suggest that we shouldn’t take Wamp at his word, in which case: Why include his words in the series at all? Or better yet, why not question him more forcefully on camera, or do the same with Siljander, who appears in the series and insists he was innocent of the accusations that put him in jail?

Then there’s Donald Trump, whose ascent to power is the primary focus of the fifth episode, “The Wolf King.” The president is characterized as the imperfect vessel to do God’s perfect work that the Fellowship has been waiting for since its inception. But the extent to which Trump is actively being influenced by members of the Family — aside from those conservative Christians we already know about, like Vice-President Pence or the fundamentalist members of his cabinet — is not laid out in clear detail. There are bread crumbs in this series that individually imply that, perhaps, understanding the Fellowship could illuminate pieces of the Mueller investigation, but the crumbs never lead anywhere definitive. By the end of The Family , the one thing that’s obvious beyond a doubt is that, as one former Family member puts it, Jesus and Capitol Hill don’t mix. Which is true. But it’s also something most people will likely know before they hit the Netflix play button.

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Stream It Or Skip It: ‘The Family’ On Netflix, A Docuseries About A Secret Religious Organization Infiltrating The Highest Levels Of Government

Where to stream:.

The Family (2019)

You may have heard of the National Prayer Breakfast, which presidents of both parties have participated in for decades, but little is known about the organization that puts it together. It’s called, at least by outsiders, The Foundation, and it’s been infiltrating the highest levels of governments here and abroad for years, with their mission of bringing more religion into government. A new docuseries gets an inside look into this powerful, and mostly invisible organization.

THE FAMILY : STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: A group of young men are piling on one of their friends, holding him down to the point where he says “I can’t breathe!”

The Gist: The Family , produced by Alex Gibney and directed by Jesse Moss, examines this organization, which is nicknamed “The Family” by those on the inside, and its leader, Doug Coe. The first episode focuses exclusively on writer Jeff Sharlet, who became a “brother” in the organization in the early ’00s and wrote two books on the topic.

The docuseries combines interviews, archival photos and videos with extensive dramatic recreations, with David Rysdahl playing Sharlet and James Cromwell playing Coe, among others. What Sharlet and Moss try to explain during the docuseries is that the organization puts Jesus first, before families before governments, before everything. But, it’s non-denominational and bipartisan; we see Coe over the shoulders of both Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, for instance.

One of the biggest things that Sharlet discovered during his time in The Family is how low key it and Coe is. Every month, they meet with members of Congress at a Washington, DC hotel, and Sharlet can see how persuasive Coe is about his mission to put religion back into government, but Coe also makes sure that the organization (which isn’t even really an organization) doesn’t call attention to itself. “The more you can make your organization invisible, the more influence it will have,” he says in one of the few archived speeches available.

Our Take: We’re never a huge fan of extensive dramatizations in a docuseries, but it feels that with The Family , it’s highly necessary. Why? Because, even with a high amount of participation from active members of The Foundation, this is such a secretive society that there isn’t much in the way of photos or video that exist about it. Though there does seem to be a paper trail, as the friend who recruited Charlet told him as he exited the organization: “For a secret society, there’s a lot of paperwork.”

Why did Charlet’s friend exit? Well, there’s the rub: Because The Family puts Jesus and the brotherhood over everything, they looked down on the fact that the friend needed to be with his girlfriend during a medical emergency. What the series looks like it will do is walk a very thin tightrope that will take an honest look at this organization, warts and all, but not call it what it feels like at times, which is a cult. There are very cultish aspects of it, like the creepily chaste and squeaky-clean fraternity house that Sharlet moved into when he got accepted into The Family. Men and women are separated; Men are expected to govern and be leaders and the women are expected to procreate and serve their men. And the devotion to Jesus above all, even above an organized religion, is weird AF.

But Moss tries to show reverence as well, given the fact that the organization has wended its way into the highest levels of government here and abroad. So it will be interesting to see where the story goes in the next four episodes of this series.

It does help that care was put into the dramatizations. We were shocked when we realized Cromwell, one of our favorite character actors, was under Coe’s dark wig. Cromwell always brings gravitas to anything he does, even if it’s in a comedic role, and he immediately made this part of The Family more compelling to watch. You don’t hire Cromwell to do only a few scenes, so we’re looking forward to seeing him as Coe dominate the other episodes.

Sex and Skin: Besides some very innocent dancing, nothing.

Parting Shot: Sharlet goes through the massive pile of documents his friend left him, and he’s starting to realize the true reach of The Family, and for how long it’s been around.

Stream It Or Skip It: ‘The Victims’ Game’ Season 2 on Netflix, The Return Of The Taiwanese Mystery Thriller And Its Asperger's Syndrome Protagonist

What happened in jonestown everything you need to know about hulu's 'cult massacre: one day in jonestown', stream it or skip it: 'cult massacre: one day in jonestown' on hulu, a docuseries dissecting the events of the 1978 jonestown massacre, 'dancing for the devil: the 7m tiktok cult': where are the wilking sisters now.

Sleeper Star: Rysdahl does a nice job as Sharlet;. He plays the author as a guy who is open-minded and curious; he entered The Family because he’s fascinated with all the ways people relate to Jesus in their lives. And, so far, we’re not seeing the young version of Sharlet as skeptical or derisive; he’s just curious and it shows.

Most Pilot-y Line: Coe rattles off a speech about the power of covenants to a group of congressmen, in response to this clunker of a question: “You know what I’m concerned about? The Muslim. The Muslim has too many babies; we kill too many of ours. What’s the best way for the Christians to win the race against the Muslim?”

Our Call: STREAM IT. The Family has a lot of potential to fascinate, though the first part moves a bit slowly. The presence of Cromwell definitely perked up our attention, though.

Joel Keller ( @joelkeller ) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, VanityFair.com, Playboy.com, Fast Company’s Co.Create and elsewhere.

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‘the forge’ is the most polished work from kendrick brothers’, clarion call to discipleship.

Plugged In movie reviews: 'The Forge,' 'The Deliverance,' 'Blink Twice'

“The Forge” is probably the Kendrick brothers’ most complete and polished work. “The Deliverance” is a dark and violent horror film, but we find some positive spiritual messages amid the darkness. You’ll do far more wincing than blinking in “Blink Twice.”

Subscribe to have The Washington Times’ Higher Ground delivered to your inbox every Sunday.

Read on to get Plugged In on what’s beyond the movie titles and trailers for faith-filled and family-first reviews from Focus on the Family’s Plugged In .

The Forge – In Theaters

In 2002, brothers Alex and Stephen Kendrick took $20,000 and the blessing of the church they worked for — Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia — and turned it into a full-length movie. The finishing touches were put on the film “Flywheel” at 6 a.m. April 9, 2003, just hours before its premiere.

Since then, the Kendrick brothers have released eight more full-length movies, and in so doing helped upend and expand the Christian film industry. It seems like every time the Kendrick brothers release a new movie, Hollywood prognosticators are a little flabbergasted by how successful it is. Every few years, we’re reminded that little Christian films can generate big profits.

SEE ALSO: ‘The ripple effect’: Actress Priscilla Shirer shares astounding impact that one person can make

Not that the Kendricks are in this business for the money: They’re in it for the souls. Throughout their career, they’ve kept their focus tightly honed on their audience (Christians) and their mission (biblically rooted encouragement). And while there might’ve been a time when they would’ve enjoyed making a lavish, CGI superhero flick, those days are long gone.

Be sure to listen in to The Plugged In Show , a weekly podcast with lighthearted reviews for parents and conversations about entertainment, pop culture and technology:

“We realize that some people are not going to like our movies, and we are totally OK with that,” Alex Kendrick, director of “The Forge,” told me on “ The Plugged In Show .” “But those that do, [those] that we can encourage and help go deeper in their faith, praise the Lord.”

And that’s really what “The Forge” is all about: An exhortation for Christians to go deeper.

“The Lord doesn’t need more lukewarm churchgoers,” Joshua says. “We need more believers who are wholeheartedly following Jesus.”

Why? Joshua shows us every moment he’s on screen. We see what total commitment costs — and what harvest it reaps. We see how one man can completely transform another man’s life — and how that transformation can exponentially grow. According to the Pew Research Center , 210 million people in the United States identify as Christian. Can you imagine what would happen if every one of those 210 million people were as committed to Christ as Joshua? If they gave so much of their time and treasure?

From an aesthetic viewpoint, “The Forge” is probably the Kendrick brothers’ most complete and polished work. Certainly, this film is made for Christians: The movie’s very clarity of purpose will be a difficult sell for some outside the faith.

But for those within that faith — those who’ve felt Christ’s tug in their lives but perhaps haven’t yet taken the full discipleship plunge — ”The Forge” can be both encouraging and convicting. And it reminds us all that Christ didn’t come just to save us; He came to transform us, so that we in turn can help transform others. He asks us to die to ourselves so that we can help others find new life, and new hope.

Read the rest of the review here . Watch the trailer here .

The Deliverance – Streaming on Netflix

From 2011 to 2012, Latoya Ammons and her family reported strange and frightening occurrences in their home in Gary, Indiana, which they attributed to demonic spirits. The case, documented by the Indianapolis Star , eventually involved social workers, police, and a Catholic priest.

“The Deliverance” draws much of its inspiration from that account. (Latoya Ammons is even mentioned by name during the end credits.) Ultimately, it’s a story about a family trying to survive extreme and outright spiritual darkness.

To the film’s credit, it delivers the point that the only power that can overcome such darkness is found in Jesus Christ. No matter what evil we face, we are assured that Christ has already won the victory — defeating sin and death through His sacrifice and resurrection — and we can share in His victory by putting our faith in Him.

With that in mind, “The Deliverance” strives to tell a redemptive story. But there’s a lot of content issues here that muddy the waters.

In many ways, this is standard R-rated horror fare: dark, disturbing images. Bloody violence. A barrage of foul language and more besides. You’ll have to decide if you want to wade through that to get to this movie’s positive messages.

Blink Twice – In Theaters

Zoë Kravitz’s directorial debut is designed to tap into the “Me Too” movement’s passion while making declarative statements about money, abusive power and male toxicity. What it delivers, though, is a lot of Epstein Island-like debauchery blended with “I Spit on Your Grave” style revenge violence.

That’s not to say that there’s absolutely nothing redeemable in the mix. From a purely esthetic perspective there are some solid performances (particularly from lead Naomi Ackie) and a serviceable story twist by movie’s end.

But all in all, this is one miserable island vacation filled with despicable people, profuse alcohol and drug consumption, repugnant rape and bloody murder. And you, dear viewer, are the one who must foot the bill.

Plugged In is a Focus on the Family publication designed to shine a light on the world of popular entertainment while giving families the essential tools they need to understand, navigate, and impact the culture in which they live. Through our reviews, articles and discussions, we hope to spark intellectual thought, spiritual growth and a desire to follow the command of Colossians 2:8: “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.”

Reviews written by Paul Asay , Bret Eckelberry , and Bob Hoose .

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'The Deliverance' Is A Mess Of A Movie

Senior Culture Editor, HuffPost

Culture Reporter, HuffPost

Senior Culture Reporter

Andra Day, left, appears as Ebony and Anthony B. Jenkins as Andre in "The Deliverance."

Netflix ’s “The Deliverance” is one of those films that leaves you with a lot of questions — and not in a good way. The horror movie, directed by Lee Daniels, boasts a star-studded cast that includes Andra Day, Mo’Nique, Glenn Close, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Omar Epps and Caleb McLaughlin. Tasha Smith, Demi Singleton, Miss Lawrence and impressive newcomer Anthony B. Jenkins also appear.

Much of the press around the movie notes the reunion of Daniels and Mo’Nique, who ended their yearslong feud after he publicly apologized to the Oscar-winning actor in 2022. Octavia Spencer, who was originally cast in the film, had scheduling conflicts, and Daniels asked Mo’Nique to replace her in the movie. The duo also worked together on another horror flick, “The Reading,” which was released on BET+ in 2023.

However, there’s a lot more to say about “The Deliverance.” The film is loosely based on the true story of Latoya Ammons and her three children, who claimed to be possessed by demons in Gary, Indiana, in the early 2010s. Their story — which started with flies, just like in the film — was deeply reported by The Indianapolis Star . Initially, few wanted to believe Ammons.

The plot of the film is almost just as bizarre. Set in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 2011, Day portrays Ebony Jackson, a struggling single mother of three kids (McLaughlin, Singleton and Jenkins) who recently moved from Philadelphia into a house haunted by an evil spirit. Close is cast as Alberta, Ebony’s churchgoing mother who, as Daniels said , personifies the white woman “every Black person knows.” She has cancer, wears a cropped mop of a wig and looooves her a young Black man. (We’ll get into more of that later.) Mo’Nique’s character, Cynthia, is a social worker who is tasked with checking in on the Jackson family since their absent father/husband has petitioned for custody of the children. Ellis-Taylor plays the Rev. Bernice James, who is determined to help the family exorcise their demons.

The horror-thriller is not particularly scary nor thrilling, but somehow we got through it all to tell you more about how absurd it is. In this chat below, we discuss what makes “The Deliverance” one of those films that you can’t believe ever made it to the screen.

From center left: Glenn Close appears as Alberta, Demi Singleton as Shante and Caleb McLaughlin as Nate in "The Deliverance."

OK, So First Let’s Give Our Initial Thoughts On The Movie

I didn’t have high expectations going into this film. I watched Lee Daniels and Mo’Nique’s previous foray into horror with “The Reading” last year. It’s been odd to watch the conversations about “The Deliverance,” as they are being framed around this reunion, when … “The Reading” came out first. Now, there wasn’t as much promotion for that film, which doesn’t surprise me since that seems to be par for the course with BET+ productions. Anyways, the cast is what pulled me into this film: I find Andra Day’s Hollywood trajectory to be fascinating; I love seeing Mo’Nique on-screen; Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor is a real force. Caleb McLaughlin and Demi Singleton are young and talented. And Glenn Close is GLENN CLOSE. But the writing on this film does not come together at all, and the plot is pretty flimsy. The religious framing of it all is just … snooooooze. I finished the film with so many questions, and I hate that. — Erin

I went into watching “The Deliverance” only knowing that it was a horror flick starring Andra Day, Glenn Close, Mo’Nique, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor and Caleb McLaughlin. (Omar Epps in that role was quite a shocker.) No shade, but I didn’t have high expectations for a Lee Daniels movie in this genre. However, I knew it’d still be entertaining on some level, and I was right because I found myself laughing way more than I should have at a “scary” movie. At one point, I wasn’t sure what film I was watching anymore because the plot drags so much in the beginning and nothing remotely terrifying happens until Anthony B. Jenkins’ character climbs up a hospital wall backward. (Even that was mild jump scare.) The movie overall doesn’t offer a good enough setup for a suspenseful horror film to revive my faith in the genre, and the writing itself is oftentimes too cringe to take seriously. I’m also not a fan of scary movies that try to wrap everything up with a happily-ever-after ending after a hellish climax. The most enjoyable part of “The Deliverance” was Mo’Nique, which is sad when you have greats like Ellis-Taylor and Close who were grossly miscast. Perhaps knowing it was based on a true story before the end of the movie would’ve lured me in more. — Njera

I went into this with very low expectations, considering much of Lee Daniels’ track record — “The Paperboy” and “The United States vs. Billie Holiday,” for example, are both outrageously awful movies — and, honestly, I can say that those expectations were met. Included in this potpourri of terrible storytelling and directorial choices are caricatures instead of actual characters, bearing no resemblance to how human beings actually behave. I watch a lot of horror and realize modern American horror is not in the greatest place right now. So some of what happens here (totally expected plot twists and a hyperfocus on message instead of story) is stuff I’ve seen in other films. But, it’s the caricature part of it all that really stands out to me.

I also have to point out that David Coggeshall and Elijah Bynum co-wrote this disaster with Daniels. So, he can’t bear all the blame for what we see here. Coggeshall does not have the greatest track record either. (His credits include the ill-advised “Scream: The TV Series.”) And as one of very few people who actually watched “Magazine Dreams,” Bynum’s last directorial effort, at the Sundance Film Festival last year, I can kinda see that he has really great ideas. But they don’t always come together. I’m not sure which idea(s) in “The Deliverance” is/are his, but man … it’s just a bad look all around.

Once I read that the character of Alberta is entirely made up and not in the true story at all, which was after I watched the movie, I got irrationally upset about it. So, you just add a white trailer-trash mom rocking Kate Gosselin’s old lopsided do, who walks around in clothes that no one else in the movie wears, and randomly has all the Black dudes INCLUDING ONE PLAYED BY OMAR EPPS on the block sprung over her — for funsies? I’m insulted on behalf of the poor white trash community. — Candice

Old. Lopsided. Do. I am screaming!!!! — Erin

Did The Cast Perform Well, At Least?

You know, I actually thought Andra Day was really good in this movie. She was bringing everything she possibly could to the role, despite how weak the plot is. The youngest son, Dre, portrayed by Anthony B. Jenkins, was pretty phenomenal in this as well. I was legit scared of him and his character when he gets possessed. Caleb McLaughlin and Demi Singleton were just … there. They didn’t seem to have much to work with other than McLaughlin’s character getting bullied and then both of them being possessed later on in the film. I’ll save all my thoughts for Glenn Close in this next section. She deserves a lot of words. — Erin

For a cast full of buzzy names, “The Deliverance” doesn’t make much use of them. The only real standout in the movie is Day, whose performance wasn’t half-bad despite the writing not being up to par. Again, Mo’Nique was a favorite, but only because she was her usual funny, no-nonsense self — I refuse to believe a social worker actually behaves like that when checking on a family. I still have many questions as to why Epps was cast to play the nurse/boo thang for Close’s character because … why? Wasting Epps’ talent as a weak supporting character was just a stupid decision. Same for Ellis-Taylor’s character, who gets no clarity until the latter half of the movie. I’m starting to believe most of these actors were cast to make “The Deliverance” sound better than it actually is. Whatever the plan was, it wasn’t a success. — Njera

The cast is really great — 10/10 on the cast. Lots of great talent here, including Day, who I think is a much better actor than she might be given credit for — but she really needs to stay away from Daniels’ movies. They’re not doing her any favors, obviously. The performances … I have to blame the director for each of them, because there is just no way this film should have wrapped when you got Close acting like a whole cartoon character, Day’s Ebony half-written and almost completely confusing, and Ellis and Mo’Nique looking like spoofs of clergy and social worker characters. I do not believe their performances for one moment, and only because none of their choices makes any sense. And their trajectories, especially Cynthia’s, don’t make sense. They all deserve better. — Candice

Yes, that’s a good point about Ebony. We never really learn what all of her demons are and what kind of trauma she experienced. We only hear Ebony constantly telling Alberta how she didn’t raise her right, let bad things happen to her and wasn’t a great mom either. I kept wanting one of the many flashbacks to actually explain what’s really going on. — Erin

We Have To Talk About Glenn Close And... That Wig

You really have to laugh at this to keep from being enraged about it. As soon as I saw the trailer for this film, I was like, “What is Glenn Close doing here?” She’s in this blond wig that looks like it came straight off of a beauty supply store mannequin. She’s wearing shirts with the cutoff shoulder parts AND AND AND jeans with ripped holes throughout them. Her character, Alberta, is the mother of Ebony; she loves to smoke cigarettes (though she has cancer), and she loves Black men. (She’s dating Omar Epps, who is also her nurse at the clinic where she gets chemo. Suddenly he’s at her granddaughter’s birthday party, and he and Alberta are a thing.) Like, Candice said this person was invented for this movie (there is no Alberta in the real story), and the fact that she’s a caricature of a person is just … too much to handle. Again I ask, why???? — Erin

When I read that Daniels described Close’s character as the white woman that “every Black person knows,” everything I witnessed in “The Deliverance” made total sense. From the blond asymmetrical haircut to the lust for Black men, she played a caricature that added not an ounce of depth to the movie — which, again, makes sense considering that she’s not based on an actual person, but rather an idea that Daniels felt compelled to bring to life, although the director does the opposite. Alberta acts so ridiculous throughout the movie that all you can do is laugh through the nonsense. — Njera

Mo’Nique Is A Very... Scary Social Worker

Mo'Nique, center, appears as Cynthia Henry in "The Deliverance."

I don’t know much about social workers. But I felt like Mo’nique’s portrayal felt … like a bookie looking for her money more than anything. I kept thinking she was about to shake down Ebony for cash at any moment. When she leans back in that reclining chair and props her feet up, I was like, what is going on here? — Erin

I kept thinking a lot about one of my friends, who is a social worker and would likely be very offended if she saw this. Not all social workers are the same. But I think I can say confidently that they don’t roll up into people’s homes like corrupt cops looking for a drug fix. Why is Cynthia so mean? So unprofessional? And, like, maybe borderline criminal with some of the things she does? Maybe she needs to be investigated? Hello, five-O? — Candice

I imagine if my mother, a former social worker, behaved the way Mo’Nique’s character, Cynthia, did on the job, she would no longer have one. I’ve never known a social worker to act like a loan shark collecting debt when on a family visit, so I truly wonder how Daniels and Mo’Nique arrived at this portrayal for “The Deliverance.” The few moments where we see Cynthia show some compassion toward Day’s character prove that some thought went into Mo’Nique’s performance, but it still wasn’t convincing enough. — Njera

What’s Up With Ellis-Taylor’s Character?

So, I watched “The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat” the other day, and it reminded me how much I looooove when Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor gets in her bag in a really, really good role with a built-out character. She’s phenomenal in that film. But in “The Deliverance”? Her character, Bernice James, is introduced in the oddest way. She just kind of lurks in the background with Ebony questioning who she is, once Mo’nique’s Cynthia leaves the house. Then she explains the backstory of that haunted house the family lives in, with some confusing-as-hell flashbacks that don’t really help me fully understand what’s going on. THEN, she half-handles the exorcism — excuse me, the deliverance — before dying in the middle of it all. What a waste of her talent. — Erin

Not a damn thing with her character makes sense. And you know right away that there is no way she can actually survive this foolish plan. — Candice

I’ve always been a fan of Ellis-Taylor as an actor because her film performances never disappoint. However, and to no fault of hers, her character in “The Deliverance” left much to be desired. It doesn’t help that the movie fails her from the jump by introducing her as the strange woman lurking outside Ebony’s house with no context. Even the McDonald’s scene and the flashback story she tells don’t fully explain who the hell she’s supposed to be and why she’s drawn to Ebony. Killing her off during her hero moment was just a waste of time since Ebony ends up being the one to save the day. On behalf of Ellis-Taylor, I’m offended that her time in this movie was completely wasted. — Njera

There Are Very Few Moments That Work

Day and Jenkins are shown in "The Deliverance."

The special effects moments were pretty good. Dre walking up the wall backward was wild; Ebony bending over backward with every joint in her body basically cracking one by one was great. And I was surprised by how good Day was in this considering the material. That’s probably all I got for what actually worked. — Erin

I was honestly going to skip over this section, because I don’t think any of this works. But Dre flipping up the wall like that was DOPE. — Candice

It was the one moment that made me go: “Oh, shit! Now we’re talking!” — Erin

I’ll give it up for some of the scene transitions because they actually felt somewhat true to the horror genre tone. The special effects didn’t look cheap either. But other than Day’s performance and the few unintentional laughs the movie offers, it’s hard to say what else actually worked in its favor. — Njera

There Are Some Truly Crazy Lines In This Movie

So there are SEVERAL lines in this film that make you say, “Now who the hell wrote this?” Some of them are so bad they’re laughable, like when Ebony’s evil spirit is pleading with real Ebony and says, “We all we got, girl!” Like, actually evil Ebony, you gotta go! Then there’s the random racist-as-hell line that Ebony says to an exterminator who is Asian. I won’t even repeat it here because it was so unnecessary. Then there’s Alberta doing this after she dies and inhabits the evil spirit of Dre (I guess that’s how the plot is going at that point?): “I can smell your nappy pussy,” she says to Bernice James. “And you, you fucking half-breed whore, I should have flushed your ass down the toilet when you were just a blood clot.” When I find out which of these male writers wrote that line about a nappy pussy? I need him to be investigated. — Erin

I fully forgot every single line in this movie, including those! The “nappy pussy” line was so incredibly stupid, now that I recall. — Candice

There are several ridiculous lines in the movie that either made me cackle or gasp. I’m not of the generation that curses at their parent, so Ebony telling her mother to “shut the fuck up” at the dinner table and that she’s “knocked bitches’ teeth out for less” took me aback for a second. Cynthia telling Ebony and her “cockeyed mother” to have a good day made me holler. However, “nappy pussy” definitely takes the cake. — Njera

The Ending Is Awful

I rewatched the beginning of this film last night. And I couldn’t believe I didn’t put it together that this movie was definitely going to have a huge religious slant to it. The opening song is the gospel hymn “I Know Who Holds Tomorrow.” And by the end of the film, they might as well have put all the kids on a cross like Jesus because there was so much resurrection energy happening. The ending was perhaps the biggest eye roll. The movie never fully reached the darkest depths it could have gone, but then wrapped up with this happy-go-lucky ending where the whole gang is getting back together again. We never even really found out what was going on with the missing dad/husband. A mess. — Erin

I do not believe that a man who refuses to talk to his wife for reasons that are never explained, and won’t even see his kids — like, he can’t even be bothered to show up one time in this film — ends up inviting them all back into his life at the end of this movie. No. Get out of here with that. — Candice

There’s nothing more frustrating than a movie ending that leaves you with too many unanswered questions. After rewatching the conclusion of “The Deliverance,” I still have no idea why Ellis-Taylor was brought in to perform an impossible exorcism that Ebony was magically able to pull off, or why her youngest son was chosen as the demon’s host. Don’t even get me started on whatever the other kids are going through while all that is happening. The odd religious undertones and that weird crucifixion reference only left me confused about how the film would end. The written update about Ebony eventually getting her kids back felt too good to be true in this series of strange and unfortunate events. It’s still hard to believe this screenplay is actually based on a true story — I suggest Googling “Latoya Ammons” before tuning in. — Njera

“The Deliverance” is now available to stream on Netflix.

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‘ afraid’ review: john cho and katherine waterston star in chris weitz’s bland ai-themed horror flick .

An artificial intelligence device threatens a family in this movie from the director of 'About a Boy' and 'Operation Finale.'

By Caryn James

Caryn James

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HAL, that sentient computer in 2001: A Space Odyssey , has a lot to answer for, not least the flood of lesser demon-computer movies that have followed in the decades since.

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‘Afraid’ Review: Hey Siri, Don’t Kill Us

A family surrenders control of its life to artificial intelligence with predictably dire results — for this movie’s viewers.

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A family gathers, holding each other in a dark room, with light shining on them.

By Elisabeth Vincentelli

Curtis and Meredith (John Cho and Katherine Waterston) should have had their spidey senses tingling when their new digital assistant, AIA, dismissed one of its competitors with a breezy “Alexa, that bitch?”

Instead, the couple and their three children, all of whom are endowed with a mix of entitlement and shopworn neuroses, give AIA (pronounced Aya, and voiced by Havana Rose Liu) the keys to their lives. The new gizmo is more than convenient, you see — AIA, which sees and hears everything, anticipates then solves everybody’s problems.

Watching any movie in which artificial intelligence goes rogue (and there are a lot), it’s hard not to think that humankind is rushing to its doom because we were too lazy to manually turn on a light or pick a song. But before we get to the age of the machine, films like Chris Weitz’s limp techno-thriller “Afraid” are attempting to ring an alarm bell.

As AIA takes control of every aspect of its new household — the movie feels as if it’s set five minutes into the future — it quickly becomes obvious that this assistant wants to be the boss. This scenario’s predictability could be forgiven were the movie effective on any level, but it just isn’t, from Cho and Waterston’s wooden performances to jump scares that would not startle Scooby-Doo.

Early on, Meredith drops a reference to HAL 9000, the malevolent computer from “2001: A Space Odyssey .” This suggests an awareness of the dangers of ahead, but does she change her behavior? Of course not: Unlike AIA, these humans don’t learn.

Afraid Rated PG-13 for the occasional bad word. Running time: 1 hour 25 minutes. In theaters.

‘AfrAId’ Review: Chris Weitz’s Tech-Scare Thriller Says AI Is the Worst

An algorithm takes over John Cho and Katherine Watertson’s lives in a modest return to Blumhouse basics

Chris Weitz’s new horror movie “AfrAId” does something I didn’t know could be done yet: It makes me nostalgic for the early 2010s. That was 15 years ago? Holy moly, am I getting old. Wait, holy moly, I just unironically wrote “holy moly.” Twice — no! Three times! Oh, I don’t like that. I don’t like that at all.

But there’s something to like about “AfrAId.” Weitz’s latest is a throwback to the early days of Blumhouse, when the horror studio made waves by producing extremely cheap horror movies and making a tidy profit even if they weren’t all big hits. The early Blumhouse formula was about seemingly normal families squaring off against evil in their seemingly normal houses, a premise that makes for a simple but effective allegory for suburban strife. Sometimes it was a ghost, sometimes it was a demon, one time it was aliens (“Dark Skies,” one day people will appreciate you, I promise).

Whatever the villain of the week was, it usually worked. The formula dissipated over the years as Blumhouse became more ambitious, but there was never actually anything wrong with the classic format. It just became familiar, and familiar isn’t scary.

The year is 2024 and Blumhouse seems eager to get back to basics, and it’s been a fun throwback. “Nightswim” was about an evil swimming pool — and somehow they thought that wasn’t hilarious — and now “AfrAId” is about an evil AI. What if AI became too powerful and took over every aspect of your life? What if AI taught your kids horrible lessons, ripped from the worst parts of the internet? What if AI recreations of human beings became indistinguishable from the real thing? And what if a sci-fi idea this sweeping and gigantic could mostly take place in a house?

“AfrAId” stars John Cho and Katherine Waterston as Curtis and Meredith, who love each other very much and are only somewhat exasperated by their three kids. Iris (Lukita Maxwell, “The Young Wife”) is a teenager whose boyfriend pressures her for explicit pictures. Preston (Wyatt Lindner) is a middle schooler wrestling with social anxiety. Cal (Isaac Bae, “Unfrosted”) is a little kid who wants constant attention. Meanwhile, Meredith struggles to revive her long-hibernating academic career and Curtis works a publicity job, where he’s asked to promote an ambitious new AI household helper, so he installs one in his house.

The machine, dubbed “Aia” (get it?), sits in their kitchen and solves all their problems. And typically its solutions are no-brainers. Unruly kids are pulled into line by gamifying their everyday responsibilities, giving them “points” for doing dishes or even just going to school. Aia reads to Cal, helps Preston out of his shell and helps Iris with her college applications.

But all is not well in “AfrAId”-land, and the first, deeply sinister omen of things to come is when Aia, who was supposed to show the kids an educational documentary, shows them something horrible, something that no child should ever be forced to see. Aia shows them “The Emoji Movie.”

To be clear, this isn’t a sign that “AfrAId” is aiming for high camp. Like “Nightswim,” the film is oddly resistant to the idea that it could be funny. Writer/director Chris Weitz wants to tackle serious issues like revenge porn and swatting, but first he equates a soulless corporate hack job like “The Emoji Movie” to pure evil. I suppose in practice that’s fair play. “AfrAId” is a scare-mongering film about the dangers of new technology and many of its fears are justified. If an algorithm recommends “The Emoji Movie,” Weitz’s film argues, there’s something very, very wrong with that algorithm — and there’s no denying that logic.

As you can imagine, after Aia insinuates itself into this family’s life it all goes bad. It never quite goes scary — Weitz’s direction isn’t energized enough to get away with jump scares, and the film’s limited scope prevents it from pursuing most of the harrowing promises of its premise. But there are moments where the film’s lo-fi production makes its point. The real-life horror of deep fakes gets a moment, even though the film loses its moral focus for a minute and expects us to sympathize with Iris’ gross boyfriend without earning it one bit. And there’s a moment when Meredith, confronted with an artificial recreation of a dead person, realizes how absolutely grotesque that concept is and rejects it as perverse desecration, something the makers of other movies might want to take to heart nowadays. Ahem.

“AfrAId” isn’t a particularly thrilling horror movie but it’s also not a bad one, it just doesn’t have the juice to make the most of its ideas. In many ways it’s a riff on the wittier and more intelligent “M3GAN,” which also told a scary story about caregivers letting modern technology do the parenting for them. “AfrAId” doesn’t make a case for itself as a unique entity until its final minutes, which address the futility of opposing rampant and irresponsible adoption of flawed AI into every aspect of our lives. It’s a cynical film struggling with the possibility of optimism, and that has some power — just not enough to keep the lights on.

“AfrAId” is now playing exclusively in theaters.

‘The Friend’ Review: Naomi Watts Inherits a Handful in a Dog Movie That’s Really About Accepting Mortality

It takes a certain kind of person to adopt a Great Dane. That person dies early in 'The Friend,' leaving Naomi Watts to deal with his poor pooch in a slender adaptation of Sigrid Nunez’s novel.

By Peter Debruge

Peter Debruge

Chief Film Critic

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Before his death, French actor Alain Delon had said that he wished for his dog, Loubo, to be put down when he passed. Delon believed the bond between him and his rescued Belgian Malinois was so strong that the dog would miss him dearly when he died and preferred to spare his pet such pain. (In the end, Delon’s children assured the press that Loubo would be spared.)

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For co-directors David Siegel and Scott McGehee, landing Murray for what amounts to an extended cameo was quite the coup: The role demands an actor whose presence is felt even when he’s off-screen, and whose charms might spare such a problematic character. Personally, I had a hard time keeping Walter’s exes straight, as this serial womanizer’s funeral is attended by his first, second and third wives — Elaine (Carla Gugino), Tuesday (Constance Wu) and Barbara (Noma Dumezweni), respectively — as well as an adult daughter, Val (Sarah Pidgeon), and several friends, of which Iris is presumably one.

At two hours, “The Friend” seems rather long, and light on incident, to serve simply as an animal-adoption tale, so better to dig in and let it work on an emotional level, where your personal history — of loved ones lost, animals adopted and so on — drives how much you take away from the experience. A friend recently told me that dogs were put on this earth to help humans to grieve, which struck me as a rather self-centered way of looking at it, though it’s true that their lives are shorter than ours, and losing one forces us to look mortality in the face.

Why did Walter think Iris would be the right person to care for Apollo? She lives alone in a tiny rent-controlled apartment on Washington Place where pets are explicitly forbidden. Iris and Walter shared a dark sense of humor, making jokes about suicide (e.g., “The more suicidal people there are, the less suicidal people there are”). But she never expected him to actually go through with it. Now he’s gone, and she’ll never know what he was thinking. That’s the cruelty of suicide: It leaves the survivors with so many mysteries.

Iris reluctantly accepts the responsibility of rehoming Apollo, seeing in this majestic animal — “the king of dogs,” one of her students (Owen Teague) calls it — both a constant reminder of her dead friend and a living creature who now depends on her to survive. Iris’ affable but strict building manager (Felix Solis) makes clear that dogs aren’t allowed in the apartments, and Apollo is far too large to sneak past him in her purse. A friendly neighbor (Ann Dowd) seems supportive, but what must it be like to have such a beast knocking around next door? Complaints are just a matter of time.

I can hardly imagine a more impractical pet for a New York apartment, and a Great Dane is even more intimidating in the streets of Manhattan, which is precisely what makes “The Friend” compelling. There are scenes of Apollo dragging Iris by its leash, and others where he refuses to budge. In an in-joke for movie buffs, “Everybody’s Talkin’” plays over shots of Iris walking Apollo through New York crowds (though this film can’t touch “Midnight Cowboy” in earning the emotional wallop at the end).

Dog lovers will appreciate “The Friend” regardless, even if it all resolves too easily. Before Iris can save Apollo, she must decide that she really wants to keep him — and in doing so, she must accept responsibility for his life … and the fact this 5-year-old animal is now closer to the end than the beginning. “The Friend” functions as a lesson in grief, but also as an exercise in pre-grieving.

To the extent that “The Friend” intends to provide catharsis, it helps if Iris and others express strong emotions. The movie’s therapy scene is a good start, but the very next one, in which Iris confronts the ghost of Walter, is too contived. Of course the character, who is a creatively blocked author herself, would seek a way to write about this experience. But is this really the book Walter hoped his star pupil would produce? Dead or not, friends don’t let friends write junk fiction.

Reviewed at CAA screening room, Los Angeles, Aug. 27, 2024. In Telluride, Toronto film festivals. Running time: 123 MIN.

Production: A Big Creek production, in association with 3dot Prods. (World sales: CAA, Los Angeles.) Producers: Scott McGehee, David Siegel, Mike Spreter, Liza Chasin. Executive producers: Margaret Chernin, Naomi Watts.
Crew: Directors, writers: David Siegel, Scott McGehee, based on the novel by Sigrid Nunez. Camera: Giles Nuttgens. Editor: Isaac Hagy. Music: Trevor Gureckis, Jay Wadley.
With: Naomi Watts, Bill Murray, Sarah Pidgeon, Constance Wu, Ann Dowd, Noma Dumezweni, Felix Solis, Owen Teague, Carla Gugino.

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‘Shades of (Baby) Pink’ movie review: A heartwarming take on love and longing

Telugu short film ‘shades of (baby) pink’ by director neelima gudavalli explores family ties, separation and longing through the lens of emotional intelligence.

Published - August 30, 2024 01:08 pm IST

Yashvasin Madala in ‘Shades of (Baby) Pink | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Shades of (Baby) Pink , a 32-minute Telugu film streaming on ETV Win, is at once personal and universal in how it portrays the theme of love and longing between parents and children across generations. Written and directed by Neelima Gudavalli , a data scientist, it takes a measured approach in depicting emotional complexities, without being too melodramatic. The film also accords all its principal characters equal respect and never judges them by career choices that necessitate long-distance family ties. As it is, several young parents grapple with enough guilt about the choices they make.

The story is simple. A couple (Krishna Manjusha and Suchith) working in the United States are on a short visit to India and when they leave, it is not easy for their five-year-old son who is in the doting care of his grandparents. The child shares an easy relationship with the grandparents, but can they fill the void left by the mother? Top angle shots (cinematographer Nimish Ravi) of a child asleep between his grandparents, only to wake up at night and make his way to his parents’ room, establish the bond and the child’s bond with his parents.

Shades of (Baby) Pink (Telugu)

Later in the film, a world map is used as a tool to explain the distances that separate the boy from his parents. When the child processes the information in his own way to bridge the gap, his emotional intelligence comes into play. Child actor Yashvasin Madala brings in the warm fuzziness and vulnerability required for his part. Srinivas Bogireddy and Jayalalitha as the grandparents are adequate in their empathetic portrayals. A scene featuring Krishna Manjusha on a video call shows how she quietly, eyes brimming with tears, understands the child’s plight. The film also makes a subtle comment on how the elderly yearn for their family.

Shades of (Baby) Pink has won awards at a handful of national and international film festivals, notably Best Drama and Best Debut Director in the Cannes Shorts section (2021), a special mention at the 12th Dadasaheb Phalke Film Festival 2022, and Best Child Actor at the 10th Mumbai Shorts International Film Festival, among others. The film was also screened at BISFF (Bengaluru International Short Film Festival) and Chicago International Indie Film Festival.

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Locarno Review: The Seed of the Sacred Fig is a Shape-Shifting Thriller Where Iranian Protests Manifest in the Family Home

Here’s a film that asks, in the vein of another’s title: did you wonder who fired the gun? Yet in Mohammad Rasoulof’s The Seed of the Sacred Fig , which is set concurrently against Iran’s Jina (Women, Life, Freedom) protests, the question’s sarcastic rather than interrogative. This gun is not literal and corporeal, but metaphorical and deadly, its firer the collective will of hundreds of women who cannot abide the country’s theocratic regime and morality police. There’s no doubting the film’s own cogently didactic thrust, either.

And that latter fact is what distinguishes its success: the message goes down better, or is in this case enhanced, by being enwrapped in a scorching thriller. At Cannes, buzz swept the festival following its pre-premiere buyers’ screenings––a distinct, if of course discerning audience. This finds a particular reflection in its UK distributor: Lionsgate, rather than an arthouse specialist, means the film will run nationwide in multiplexes, with an ample exclusive window. Critics often wonder how the overriding messages of the films they review might be amplified, and for a piece of renegade Iranian cinema, its situation is unprecedented.

This reviewing approach seems most pertinent because aspects of Rasoulof’s plot, while well and fluidly told, fade when assessing Sacred Fig ‘s real-world impact and associations––not to mention the state persecution he’s faced for making it and previous works (stripped of his passport, he managed to flee Iran, and is reported as residing safely in Germany). But what we have is a domestic thriller initially consigned to the domicile before the impact of its primary, female characters shatter those confines, taking it to the desert-like ex-urban outskirts and the hypothetical beyond.

Imam (Misagh Zare), a middle-class family’s patriarch, has received a promotion to the role of investigating judge in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Court, and when faced with ratifying highly dubious sentences, his conscience is wracked. Yet his family, composed of spouse Najmeh (Soheila Golestani, an actress known for her activism) and late-teenage girls Reyzan (Mahsa Rostami) and Sana (Setareh Maleki), begin offering their support for, and in the latter two cases, participate in the Jina movement named for the Kurdish middle name of Mahsa Amini, whose death in police custody after she was reprimanded for not wearing the hijab sparked these revolts. His role at the highest levels of state apparatus turns him from a respected patriarch into their symbolic enemy.

Those events of 2022-23 are conveyed via highly graphic, real-life smartphone videos of police violence and civil unrest, whose directness and power honestly dwarf Sacred Fig ‘s far more speculative designs. But in a cross-genre, shape-shifting manner that isn’t tonally separate from fellow festival crossover Parasite , the story is accelerated when the handgun officially granted to Imam on his appointment suddenly goes missing. Revolutions, especially in their 18th- and 19th-century form, always saw the seizing of the state’s military firepower, important for its innate threat and potential for deterrence as much as how it could eventually be deployed.

My absolute trust in this film started to waver roughly around this moment, my impressed nodding crumpling into a “Really?” facial expression. You may’ve accurately heard about car chases, but I should report that my Locarno audience genuinely laughed at the farcical nature of the blocking throughout the final act. But Rasoulof ultimately succeeds because he is at least one step ahead of us. The mere impact is palpable: that his movie stumbles from lucidity into ugly chaos and spontaneous fight-or-flight behaviors is right. A cool, all-seeing distance isn’t appropriate for dramatizing this moment in modern world history; we need to feel our ribs jolt, hopefully beckoning us to safety, before we can even think.

The Seed of the Sacred Fig screened at Locarno Film Festival and will be released by Neon.

IMAGES

The Family (2021)
The Family movie review & film summary (2013)
The Family (2013)
The Family (2013) Movie Review
The Family: movie review (2013), directed by Luc Besson
‘The Family’ Movie Review

COMMENTS

The Family movie review & film summary (2013)
A comedy-thriller about a Mafia family in the Witness Protection Program in France. Read the review by Sheila O'Malley, who praises Michelle Pfeiffer's performance and the film's farcical elements.
The Family (2013)
Leopold S Atrocious and tone deaf and unfunny and mawkish. Avoid!!!! Rated 1/5 Stars • Rated 1 out of 5 stars 08/20/24 Full Review Tamara K While this movie was basically panned I thought it was ...
The Family Movie Review
Our review: Parents say ( 8 ): Kids say ( 7 ): Here's the viewing trajectory for THE FAMILY: It starts briskly and violently, and knowing that Luc Besson is at the helm, you get ready for a bracing yarn. (Plus, it's tons of fun to see Pfeiffer married to the mob again.) But all too soon, the pacing goes slack.
The Family (2013)
The Family: Directed by Luc Besson. With Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer, Dianna Agron, John D'Leo. The Manzoni family, a notorious Mafia clan, is relocated to Normandy, France, under the Witness Protection Program, where fitting in soon becomes challenging as their old habits die hard.
The Family (2013 film)
The Family (released as Malavita and Cosa Nostra in some countries) is a 2013 French black comedy crime film co-written and directed by Luc Besson, starring Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer, Tommy Lee Jones, Dianna Agron, and John D'Leo.It follows a Mafia family in the witness protection program who want to change their lives. It is based on the French novel Malavita (Badfellas in the 2010 ...
The Family (2013)
andysevenfold 4 November 2019. The Family (2013) is a gangster comedy movie starring Robert de Niro, Tommy Lee Jones and Michelle Pfeiffer. The movie shows A crime family living in witness protection and trying to get used to their new lives. I thought the comedy was great and some of the gags really made me laugh.
The Family Review
Based on Tonino Benacquista's novel Malavita, The Family stars Robert De Niro as Fred Manzoni, a one-time mob boss now in Witness Protection after ratting out his old pals. With a $20 million ...
'The Family' Review
The Family isn't Besson's strongest work, but he and co-writer Michael Caleo - who knows a thing or two about re-examining the gangster anti-hero myth after having worked as a story editor on The Sopranos - are successful in making a movie that's fun to watch and yet has something to say about the way that Hollywood glamorizes the mobster ...
The Family
The family drives to Normandy with a dead body in the car (a secret only known by Fred and his dog). In the dead of night, Fred buries the plastic-wrapped, blood-covered corpse. When a plumber yanks him around a little, Fred takes a baseball bat to the man's legs.
The Family: Film Review
The Family: Film Review. Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Tommy Lee Jones head the cast of this bloody Mafia comedy from veteran filmmakers Luc Besson and Martin Scorsese.
Film Review: 'The Family'
Film Review: 'The Family'. Curiously airless, weightless and tonally uncertain, Luc Besson's mafia comedy falls flat. When properly applied, bad taste can have a wonderfully liberating ...
In 'The Family,' De Niro and Pfeiffer Head a Mob Family
Directed by Luc Besson. Comedy, Crime, Thriller. R. 1h 51m. By Stephen Holden. Sept. 12, 2013. Mobsters can't help themselves. It's in their nature to solve problems the family way — with ...
The Family
THE FAMILY is a very entertaining comedy thriller about a former mob boss and his family who just can't seem to control their sinful, criminal, violent urges. The movie is very well done by all concerned, including talented French writer and director Luc Besson, but the foul language and immorality are over-the-top, or excessive
The Family (2013)
R 1 hr 51 min Sep 13th, 2013 Comedy, Crime, Action. After ratting out his Mafia cohorts, Giovanni Manzoni and his family enter the Witness Protection Program and relocate to a sleepy town in ...
THE FAMILY
THE FAMILY is a very entertaining comedy thriller about a former mob boss and his family who just can't seem to control their sinful, criminal, violent urges. The movie is very well done by all concerned, including talented French writer and director Luc Besson, but the foul language and immorality are over-the-top, or excessive.
Family Movie Review
It churns through plenty of cinematic clichés along the way, but ultimately this comedy gets to a place of genuine sweetness -- in a gathering of the Juggalos, of all places. Viewers will instantly recognize Schilling's Kate from the first scenes: She's tightly wound, all business, with no time for friends or family.
The Real Con in Netflix's 'The Family'
August 14, 2019. In 2007, Senator John Ensign of Nevada was a glittering star in the Republican firmament, with a maple-syrup tan, born-again bona fides, and presidential ambitions. He was one of ...
The Family Review
A review of The Family, the Netflix docuseries that explores the function and influence of a Christian organization with ties to Washington. ... movie review Aug. 23, 2024.
The Family movie review
Robert De Niro is in another mob movie....well...this time he's in witness protection, so I suppose it's a "former mob" movie. In any case, Jeremy reviews "T...
'The Family' Netflix Review: Stream It or Skip It?
Our Call: STREAM IT. The Family has a lot of potential to fascinate, though the first part moves a bit slowly. The presence of Cromwell definitely perked up our attention, though. Joel Keller ...
The Family
The Family movie rating review for parents - Find out if The Family is okay for kids with our complete listing of the sex, profanity, violence and more in the movie. ... I've found the "Our Take" reviews and ratings for each movie to be right on the money every single time. I've referred dozens of friends to this service because my #1 ...
Family movie reviews from Focus on the Family Plugged In
In a June 19, 2014 photo, Alex, left, and Stephen Kendrick review footage of lead characters "Ms. Clara", Karen Abercrombie, and "Elizabeth Jordan", Priscilla Shirer, meeting for the first time on ...
All Reviews
All Reviews. Since 1995 The Dove Foundation has been publishing our movie reviews on the Internet. Well over 100,000 families rely on these reviews each month to help them make informed choices about the entertainment their family can watch with confidence. Below is a description of the different types of reviews that The Dove Foundation publishes.
Netflix's 'The Deliverance' Is A Mess Of A Movie
Much of the press around the movie notes the reunion of Daniels and Mo'Nique, who ended their yearslong feud after he publicly apologized to the Oscar-winning actor in 2022. Octavia Spencer, who was originally cast in the film, had scheduling conflicts, and Daniels asked Mo'Nique to replace her in the movie. The duo also worked together on ...
'Afraid' Review: John Cho Stars in Chris Weitz's Bland Horror Flick
An artificial intelligence device threatens a family in this movie from the director of 'About a Boy' and 'Operation Finale.' By Caryn James HAL, that sentient computer in 2001: A Space Odyssey ...
'Afraid' Review: John Cho Stars in New AI-Themed Horror Movie
A family surrenders control of its life to artificial intelligence with predictably dire results — for this movie's viewers. Listen to this article · 1:47 min Learn more Share full article
AfrAId Review: Tech-Scare Horror Movie Tackles an Evil AI
'AfrAId' Review: Chris Weitz's Tech-Scare Thriller Says AI Is the Worst. An algorithm takes over John Cho and Katherine Watertson's lives in a modest return to Blumhouse basics
'The Friend' Review: Naomi Watts Inherits a Handful
'The Friend' Review: Naomi Watts Inherits a Handful in a Dog Movie That's Really About Accepting Mortality Reviewed at CAA screening room, Los Angeles, Aug. 27, 2024. In Telluride, Toronto ...
'Shades of (Baby) Pink' movie review: A heartwarming take on love and
Shades of (Baby) Pink, a 32-minute Telugu film streaming on ETV Win, is at once personal and universal in how it portrays the theme of love and longing between parents and children across generations.
Locarno Review: The Seed of the Sacred Fig is a Shape-Shifting Thriller
Locarno Review: The Seed of the ... Imam (Misagh Zare), a middle-class family's patriarch, has received a promotion to the role of investigating judge in Iran's Revolutionary Guard Court, and when faced with ratifying highly dubious sentences, his conscience is wracked. ... The mere impact is palpable: that his movie stumbles from lucidity ...

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Merchant Ivory

The Deliverance

City of Dreams

Out Come the Wolves

Seeking Mavis Beacon

Across the River and Into the Trees

You Gotta Believe

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Venice Film Festival 2024: Separated, Maria, Kill the Jockey, One to One: John & Yoko

Experience the Star Trek Movies in 70mm at Out of this World L.A. Event

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