A
Family Thing (1996)
"There aren't too many good stories out there
about the complications of race in this country, and
this had some great scenes for two men from different
sides of the track that have to come to terms with each
other. Also, it was a chance to work with James Earl
Jones, whom I greatly admire and who's about the only
guy in the country I haven't worked with." - Robert
Duvall
Director Richard Pearce has mined the theme of black
and white race relations in film before. His 1990 drama,
"The Long Walk Home," featured Whoopi Goldberg and Sissy
Spacek in a story of the bus strike that erupted after
the Rosa Parks incident in the 50's. With "A Family
Thing," Pearce moves the drama to the modern day and
shows us how much and how little has changed in race
relations in the last 60 years. In both films, the relationship
between a black and a white serves as a model for a
discussion that touches upon the whole theme. Pearce
never opts for grandiose statements or sweeping generalities.
Instead, his plots center on one conflict that simply
tells a single story. He allows us viewers to make as
much or as little out of that story as we see fit. He
simply states the facts and allows us to make up our
own minds.
In "A Family Thing," Robert Duvall plays a southern
good-ole-boy in his 60's. When his mother dies, she
leaves him a letter explaining that his past has been
a lie, she is not his mother, his father had raped a
black woman and he is the product of that crime. His
real mother died in childbirth and, since Duvall looked
white, she raised him as her own. She expresses her
love for him and explains that she loved him as much
as one of her own. Duvall is devastated by this news
but he heeds his adopted mother's last wish; He sets
out to find his half-brother, a cop in Chicago, played
by James Earl Jones.
The film could be a silly series of confrontational
where Duvall's Earl acts as a bigoted idiot (ala "The
Watermelon Man") but scripters Billy Bob Thorton and
Tom Epperson are much to talented than to let their
plot denigrate into that. They have to find a reason
for Duvall to stay and get to know his brother and his
family. They do this with quite reasonable plot twists.
The script for this film is like that. Reasonable, interesting
and enjoyable. At times it stops to allow anecdotes
to be told and images to speak for words. We never get
distracted by these sideline trips, however, because
the film becomes a cohesive whole as it unfolds before
us.
Duvall and Jones are fantastic in their roles. Duvall
plays a character not far removed from the southern
country folks he has depicted before. But here he is
allowed to go much further into his character to show
us a man we would like to know, until we begin to see
strange aspects in his character. His subtle bigotry
and his inability to cope often make him intolerable.
But Duvall is on a journey and he is allowed to create
a character that grows whom we grow to like. Our respect
for Duvall really flowers when he pulls a youth aside
to tell him a story which helps to set him straight.
Here, Duvall spends 5 to 10 minutes telling a story
while the camera steadily stays on him. He is powerful
and commanding in this moment. It is here that we finally
get to see the real Earl. Jones, meanwhile, creates
a character that is also a subtle masterpiece. His cop
character named Raymond has a different set of stumbling
blocks. What Duvall is just now dealing with as a 60
year old adult, Jones has lived with his entire life.
He knows who Duvall is before the man even arrives.
He knows the story Duvall is gong to face. His sense
of honor and of family have helped him to overcome his
problems in life though he is left with one tiny scar,
a slight stutter when he speaks a word that begins with
the letter "R." Since we relate to Jones here, we follow
the film through his eyes much of the time, even though
Duvall is the main character here.
As great as both of these actors are in their principle
roles, they are upstaged by one of the finest performances
on film in recent memory. Irma P. Hall plays the brothers'
Aunt Tiara, called Aunt T for short. Blind, aged and
stubborn, Hall's T is also lovable and warm. Given ample
opportunity to shine in the film, Hall is both dramatic
and comedic. She'll begin to tell us a humorous story
then fill it with warmth and humanity as she goes along.
Since the script often calls for anecdotes to be told,
Hall also gets to narrate the flashback scene at the
films climax. We enjoy listening to her speak and feel
like we too are gathered at her dress hem, sitting on
the floor by her chair, and hearing an familial tale.
It makes our collective hearts warm. It also allows
Duvall and Jones' character to reflect and grow as much
as it does us.
Pearce's direction is magical when it comes to allowing
characters to open up and talk on screen. He can make
a simple conversation be quite engrossing, mainly because
he uses no tricks. He simply allows his actors to explore
their craft while the cameras roll. But Pearce also
adds wonderful symbolic touches to the film. It's quite
noticeable when Duvall leaves the south to travel to
Chicago that angels accompany him on the journey. His
adoptive mother's spirit guides him to his destiny.
We don't really notice, however, that the angels disappear
once Duvall arrives at his aim. It is all up to him
after that. But Pearce's best touch is his use of trains
here. We notice that Duvall's Earl and Jones' Ray, for
all their differences, have several similarities. This
is further highlighted by the fact that a train track
runs next to Duvall's homestead in the south and the
Elevated Train runs right next to Jones' home in suburban
Chicago. But trains run throughout the film at key moments
in plot and dialogue. One even runs off into the distance
at the film's finale scene. Pearce seems to use them
as ideas. The thought that life is transitory, that
home is where you and your family are, that a new life
is a simple train ride away. Trains guide us into the
next step of life, they take us into the future. Trains
remind us that life is going on outside of our world,
while we are stuck stumbling through our petty problems,
life continues for others in our world. This is just
the tip of the symbolic iceberg. Pearce uses trains
in the film to mean almost everything.
"A Family Thing" is one of the most touching and interesting
films to come along in a long time. The acting, story,
dialogue and filmmaking all culminate in a beautiful
finished product. Every person involved in this project
should take great pride in it. It may very well be the
best film on race relations to ever be made. "A Family
Thing" is an important film. See it with your family.
Note:
Also with Michael Beach, Grace Zabriske, Regina Taylor,
and David Keith.
Music by Charles Gross. Director of Photography is
Fred Murphy. Produced by Duvall, Randa Haines and Todd
Black.
Review written in 1996
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