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The Family Fang - One of the oddest movies I’ve seen recently
It’s movie time again and the cineplexes are brimming with fans and repeated showings of the first crop of summer super hero movies. I just was NOT In the mood for more spandex, so we tried this at random. The Family Fang was based on the novel of the same name, directed by Jason Bateman who also co-stars with Nicole Kidman. It also features Christopher Walken and a musical score by Carter Burwell.
I had not read the book, so I went into this with an open mind, not knowing what to expect. The story revolves around a brother/sister pair, Baxter and Annie Fang (Bateman and Kidman) and their bizarre relationship with their parents, Caleb and Camille (Walken and Maryann Plunkett). Unfortunately for them, Baxter and Annie grew up with a father who is a weird, self-absorbed narcissist and performance artist. All through childhood they were props in his performances, sometimes including staged death and murder. Baxter is a slightly successful novelist, Annie a middling movie actress of minor fame. The story develops when they are notified by police that their parents have gone missing, on the way home at night, that blood was found in the car and that there have been other crimes committed on this road. Suspicious…just how many times has Caleb staged his own death? A blood test confirms that his blood is in the car, but so what; he’s willing to bleed for his so-called “Art”. Annie and Baxter go through the motions of being involved in the investigation and being concerned that their parents really are in trouble or perhaps dead, but suspicion remains. In the process, they begin to reconnect their lives in respect to each other. Are their parents dead, abducted, have they staged all this as a piece of performance art? Are Annie and Baxter (kids A and B in their childhood performances) finally fed up with their parents’ antics? Is their mother a willing part of Caleb’s self-aggrandizing weirdness or is she a “victim”? If they DID stage this cruel hoax, do A and B really WANT to find their parents?
If you’re guessing that this is a strange family story, you’re right. It’s also a fairly dark comedy. Much of the movie sits on the edge of comedy and just plain sadness at so much family dysfunction. Having sat at the edge of the art world in my real life for a while, I have direct personal experience with self-absorbed narcissists like Caleb (who also make frequent appearances in religion and politics) and have no need for them. In real life, you can walk away, but it’s more complicated when they are family and parents and you have been props in their hoaxes. Then it really IS sad. Caleb is that sort of character, whose idea of inspired parenting borders on abuse and manipulation. The script and Bateman’s direction keep the entire movie on the razor edge of humor and pathos. Performances by the stars are good, although I don’t see them as being noteworthy. The plot and script are the stars here. Family Fang is not suspenseful, highly dramatic and has no action or FX. It’s a simple but sometimes confusing story with a lot of flashbacks to A & B’s childhood and recent adulthood. I have to admit that I don’t see that much in Bateman’s acting, personally. Baxter is mainly a reprise of Michael Bluth from Arrested Development. Christopher Walken is a good as he needs to be, as is Nicole Kidman but it’s really not an actor’s movie.
In spite of those reservations, I do give Fang a qualified recommendation. It’s a smart plot that keeps you guessing about what’s happening right up to the end, which either is or is not obvious, depending on what you expected or preferred. It’s a novelist’s movie and an enigma of a plot. I’m more pleased with Bateman’s direction than his acting. He might have more of a career behind the camera than in front of it. My qualified recommendation is that you should be prepared for a wordy, no-action movie with no character that you want to identify with. Nevertheless, it’s better than that because it all holds together well in spite of its strangeness and is a welcome relief from FX heavy spandex movies. Production is simple but effective and the musical score by Carter Burwell is excellent in its minimalist simplicity. The most recent revision on Flixter tells us that, so far Family Fang has grossed $94,000, so I guess you don’t have to worry about not getting a ticket if it’s showing near you. In spite of my reservations, I do suggest seeing it. When it comes out on video, I will probably watch it again to pick up on the many clues and suggestions that abound in this subtle movie.
It’s movie time again and the cineplexes are brimming with fans and repeated showings of the first crop of summer super hero movies. I just was NOT In the mood for more spandex, so we tried this at random. The Family Fang was based on the novel of the same name, directed by Jason Bateman who also co-stars with Nicole Kidman. It also features Christopher Walken and a musical score by Carter Burwell.
I had not read the book, so I went into this with an open mind, not knowing what to expect. The story revolves around a brother/sister pair, Baxter and Annie Fang (Bateman and Kidman) and their bizarre relationship with their parents, Caleb and Camille (Walken and Maryann Plunkett). Unfortunately for them, Baxter and Annie grew up with a father who is a weird, self-absorbed narcissist and performance artist. All through childhood they were props in his performances, sometimes including staged death and murder. Baxter is a slightly successful novelist, Annie a middling movie actress of minor fame. The story develops when they are notified by police that their parents have gone missing, on the way home at night, that blood was found in the car and that there have been other crimes committed on this road. Suspicious…just how many times has Caleb staged his own death? A blood test confirms that his blood is in the car, but so what; he’s willing to bleed for his so-called “Art”. Annie and Baxter go through the motions of being involved in the investigation and being concerned that their parents really are in trouble or perhaps dead, but suspicion remains. In the process, they begin to reconnect their lives in respect to each other. Are their parents dead, abducted, have they staged all this as a piece of performance art? Are Annie and Baxter (kids A and B in their childhood performances) finally fed up with their parents’ antics? Is their mother a willing part of Caleb’s self-aggrandizing weirdness or is she a “victim”? If they DID stage this cruel hoax, do A and B really WANT to find their parents?
If you’re guessing that this is a strange family story, you’re right. It’s also a fairly dark comedy. Much of the movie sits on the edge of comedy and just plain sadness at so much family dysfunction. Having sat at the edge of the art world in my real life for a while, I have direct personal experience with self-absorbed narcissists like Caleb (who also make frequent appearances in religion and politics) and have no need for them. In real life, you can walk away, but it’s more complicated when they are family and parents and you have been props in their hoaxes. Then it really IS sad. Caleb is that sort of character, whose idea of inspired parenting borders on abuse and manipulation. The script and Bateman’s direction keep the entire movie on the razor edge of humor and pathos. Performances by the stars are good, although I don’t see them as being noteworthy. The plot and script are the stars here. Family Fang is not suspenseful, highly dramatic and has no action or FX. It’s a simple but sometimes confusing story with a lot of flashbacks to A & B’s childhood and recent adulthood. I have to admit that I don’t see that much in Bateman’s acting, personally. Baxter is mainly a reprise of Michael Bluth from Arrested Development. Christopher Walken is a good as he needs to be, as is Nicole Kidman but it’s really not an actor’s movie.
In spite of those reservations, I do give Fang a qualified recommendation. It’s a smart plot that keeps you guessing about what’s happening right up to the end, which either is or is not obvious, depending on what you expected or preferred. It’s a novelist’s movie and an enigma of a plot. I’m more pleased with Bateman’s direction than his acting. He might have more of a career behind the camera than in front of it. My qualified recommendation is that you should be prepared for a wordy, no-action movie with no character that you want to identify with. Nevertheless, it’s better than that because it all holds together well in spite of its strangeness and is a welcome relief from FX heavy spandex movies. Production is simple but effective and the musical score by Carter Burwell is excellent in its minimalist simplicity. The most recent revision on Flixter tells us that, so far Family Fang has grossed $94,000, so I guess you don’t have to worry about not getting a ticket if it’s showing near you. In spite of my reservations, I do suggest seeing it. When it comes out on video, I will probably watch it again to pick up on the many clues and suggestions that abound in this subtle movie.