by Tony Medley
117 Minutes.
R
In theaters.
This is a disturbing film about the disintegration of what starts out to be a close-knit, loving family. Ellen, a college professor, and Paul, a restaurant owner (Diane Lane and Kyle Chandler), are the parents of a family consisting of three daughters: Anna (Madeline Brewer), a successful, rebellious, queer stand-up comedienne; Cynthia (Zoey Deutch), an environmental attorney; and Birdie (McKenna Grace), a sensitive teenager. The second-oldest is Josh (Dylan O’Brien), a mediocre writer with a close relationship with his mother, Ellen.
As they gather to celebrate Ellen and Paul’s 25th wedding anniversary, Josh brings along Liz (Phoebe Dynevor) as his date. It turns out that Liz had been Ellen’s student at Georgetown University and had written an inflammatory, indeed traitorous, paper that Ellen didn’t like, and Ellen basically forced her out of Georgetown.
Two years later, Josh and Liz are married, and Liz has published a book, “The Change,” that lit a fire around the country, advocating for one-party rule. Ellen, a patriot who cherishes the Constitution, hates the book and doesn’t like Liz too much, either. Josh is a staunch supporter of his wife.
Directed by Jan Komasa from a script by Lori Rosene-Gambino, it checks most of the requirements for casting in today’s Hollywood, at least one gay character and at least one mixed-race marriage, neither of which has anything to do with the story. It also has prolific, casual smoking, so I can only assume that tobacco companies had something to do with financing, unless the filmmakers just want to encourage people to smoke, as they did for so many decades in the 20th Century, where virtually every movie showed people lighting up. But for that, I would have given it close to a 10 because the directing and acting are outstanding, and the tense story inexorably grows more dystopian as it slowly dissolves into its climax.
When I watch a film via a link in my office, as I did with this one, I often pause it to do other things and come back to it, but I couldn’t tear myself away from this one —it had me captivated.
Tony Medley is an attorney, columnist, and MPAA-accredited film critic whose reviews and articles may be read in several newspapers and at rottentomatoes.com, CWEB.com, robinhoodnews.com, Movie Review Query Engine (mrqe.com), and at www.tonymedley.com. A former sports editor of the UCLA Daily Bruin, he is the author of four books, UCLA Basketball:The Real Story, Sweaty Palms: The Neglected Art of Being Interviewed, the first book ever written on the interview for the interviewee, having sold over a half million copies, and The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Bridge, which has sold over 100,000 copies, and Learn to Play Bridge Like a Boss. He is an American Contract Bridge League RubyLife Master and an ACBL accredited director. He is a Mensa Life Member and a member of the International Society of Philosophic Research, ISPE (“The Thousand”).
