Product: Everybody's Fine (2009)
Rating: 5.0
The Ties That Bind
During this festive season when so much of our energies focus on the family "Everybody's Fine" is mandatory viewing. The film's time trajectory is over a period of weeks and months and only culminates with a Christmas feast. There is so much said about dysfunctional or disconnected families but there are no alike families in the world. Each family has it's own unique dynamic and the Goodes as portrayed here are no exception. Frank Goode (Robert De Niro) recently retired and widowed is looking to gather his four adult children at his home. Each concoct an excuse not to come. Since the kids won't come to Frank he'll go to them even though they live on all corners of the U.S.A. There is an apparent disconnect between Frank and the kids even though by all accounts he was a hard-working and loving provider for his wife and kids. It just seems that Frank's traditional role was as bread-winner and his wife provided the psychic nurturing. With her passing there is a definite void in the family and Frank's journey becomes both physical and one of self-discovery. The cast here is uniformly great but it's De Niro's show. In a subtle yet no less masterful turn De Niro demonstrates the evolution Frank makes. Director-writer Kirk Jones script is no less knowing and insightful. This film didn't make much of a dent on initial release but definitely should be sought out.