''In the Family'' is a 2011

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

that was the directorial debut of

Patrick Wang Patrick Wang is an American writer, economist, director, and actor. His first feature film, the acclaimed hit Independent film, indie film ''In the Family (2011 film), In the Family'', was released in 2011. He later directed the acclaimed two-part ...

. It tells the story of the surviving partner's attempt to maintain his relationship with his dead partner's young son.

Cast

* Sebastian Banes – Chip Hines *

– Joey Williams or Chin-Mei Lang (pre-foster name) *

Trevor St. John Trevor Marshall St. John (born September 3, 1971) is an American actor. He portrayed Todd Manning/Victor Lord Jr. on the ABC daytime drama ''One Life to Live'', and has starred in various primetime shows and films. He is known for his performanc ...

– Cody Hines *

Park Overall Park Overall (born March 15, 1957) is an American actress, environmental and women's rights activist, and former U.S. Senate candidate, known for her trademark heavy Southern accent. Her best-known role was as nurse Laverne Todd in the sitcom ...

- Sally Hines *

Chip Taylor Chip Taylor (born James Wesley Voight; March 21, 1940) is an American songwriter and singer noted for writing "Angel of the Morning" and " Wild Thing". Early life Taylor was born on March 21, 1940, in Yonkers, New York. He is the brother of a ...

- Darryl Hines * Kelly McAndrew - Eileen Robey * Peter Hermann - Dave Robey * Eisa Davis - Anne Carter * Zoe Winters - Helene * Christina Hogue - Cheryl * Elaine Bromka - Gloria * Brian Murray - Paul Hawkes * Susan Kellerman - Marge Hawkes

Reception

Critical response

The film has received critical acclaim since its release.

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

gives a score of 97% based on 29 reviews, with an average score of 8.4/10. At

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

it scored 82% based on reviews from 9 critics, considered "universal acclaim". Acclaimed film critic

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

awarded the film 4 out of 4 stars and quote, "I was completely absorbed from beginning to end. What a courageous first feature this is, a film that sidesteps shopworn stereotypes and tells a quiet, firm, deeply humanist story about doing the right thing". Kevin Uhlich of ''

Time Out New York ''Time Out'' is a global magazine published by Time Out Group. ''Time Out'' started as a London-only publication in 1968 and has expanded its editorial recommendations to 328 cities in 58 countries worldwide. In 2012, the London edition becam ...

'' awarded the film 5 out of 5 stars and wrote "No doubt you've noticed the nearly three-hour runtime, but please don't let that dissuade you: Every moment counts in this gripping tale". Frank Scheck of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' called the film "deeply humanistic, profoundly touching work representing independent cinema at its finest". Paul Brunick of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' said, "Mr. Wang's slow-reveal psychological drama isn't just a showcase for his excellent ensemble cast. Beautifully modulated and stylistically ''

sui generis ''Sui generis'' ( , ) is a Latin phrase that means "of its/their own kind", "in a class by itself", therefore "unique". A number of disciplines use the term to refer to unique entities. These include: * Biology, for species that do not fit in ...

'', ''In the Family'' is also one of the most accomplished and undersold directorial debuts this year". Rob Humanick of ''

Slant magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...

'' liked the film and awarded the film 4 out of 4 stars, and wrote in his review, "An acutely felt, altogether devastating family drama as intimate and affecting as it is sprawling and untamed." Robert Abele from the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' and said in this positive review, "Deliberate and marked by uncommon grace, ''In The Family'' manages to feel politically and culturally acute without ever resorting to melodrama, or having to wave banners for issues or causes, except perhaps in its quiet way for a renewed humanism in movies and a return to stories about everyday lives", and "These days, a movie so invested in the highs and lows of caring for others can only be a remarkable, cherished thing." Andrew Schenker of ''

Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the creat ...

'' said of ''In the Family'' that "With an incisive understanding of character, believably naturalistic acting, and lengthy scenes that don't feel stretched out so much as given room to breathe, ''In the Family'' proves that smart direction and an innate feeling for one's material trumps potentially precious subject matter."

Accolades

The film was nominated for the

Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature The Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature is one of the annual Independent Spirit Awards. It is usually given to the director (or directors) and producer (or producers). The "first feature" designation is applied to the director not the p ...

in 2012. Sebastian Banes won the

Young Artist Award The Young Artist Award (originally known as the Youth in Film Award) is an accolade presented by the Young Artist Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1978 to honor excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young ...

for Best Supporting Young Actor Age Ten and Under. The film also received "Best Feature" awards at the

San Diego Asian Film Festival The San Diego Asian Film Festival ( SDAFF) is an annual event organized by Pacific Arts Movement (formerly the San Diego Asian Film Foundation) that takes place every November in San Diego, California. Background SDAFF is the flagship event for ...

, the

San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival CAAMFest, known prior to 2013 as the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival (SFIAAFF), is presented every March in the San Francisco Bay Area in the United States as the nation’s largest showcase for new Asian American and Asia ...

, and the Spokane International Film Festival, with Wang receiving "Best Emerging Filmmaker" awards at all three festivals, as well.

References

External links

* * * * * {{Patrick Wang 2011 films Films about Chinese Americans Films about Taiwanese Americans American drama films American LGBT-related films Films set in Tennessee Films about interracial romance Gay-related films LGBT-related films about Chinese Americans 2011 drama films Films directed by Patrick Wang Asian-American drama films 2011 independent films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films