esrosedotblog

Today I watched the first half of Patrick Wang's masterpiece of understatement

In the Family (2011),

a NYTimes Critics' Pick.

A gay couple have a boy, the son of one partner left after the death of his wife.

That partner dies in an accident and the other partner who, by this time, is also the other Dad, grieves with the boy.

Along comes the will and it turns out there are complications. The family is left as both the executor and the custody of the boy in an outdated will.

This gentle document of the problems inherent when people are not protected by marriage or thick documented instructions is not approached from the usual strident negative behavior of the family, although there is some.

Its approach is through the experience of the Dad who is left.

Wang wrote and directed and stars. He is a force of considerable strength. He is, after all, going against all the odds to get his son back.

First, he finds friends. Then professional help and, I sense, some surprises along the way.

There is enough of the relationship between the two men and the boy to show us what went before. There are a few rich flashbacks to show the guys falling in love out of the disaster of a lost spouse.

The film is 3 hours long and needs it to tell the story as I have seen it so far. I just can't go the distance in one sitting.

I had no trouble leaving because I feel the confidence of the director. I am in good hands.

It is hard to get that but an essential skill of movie makers as well as authors of books. I know that I am being treated as well as the characters with respect and kindness.

Wang deals gently with the issues of gay men, the families they belonged to before and, here, the issue of race. All this takes place in Tennessee. A not inconsiderable circumstance.

Here a memory of the first family meeting with the new boyfriend.

Labels: films