Jason Bateman and Nicole Kidman star as siblings trying to overcome the after effects of a weird, unconventional upbringing by their performance artist parents. Time Warner Cable News’ film critic Neil Rosen filed the following review of “The Family Fang.”
Jason Bateman's second directorial effort "The Family Fang" is a very good dramedy, that he also stars in, along with Nicole Kidman and Christopher Walken.
Bateman and Kidman play siblings. He is a novelist, she is an actress, and they're trying to overcome the after effects of a weird, unconventional upbringing by their two eccentric parents.
Played by Christopher Walken and Maryann Plunkett, they're performance artists whose unique style could best be described as absurd public disturbances, as they pull Candid Camera-style pranks on unsuspecting bystanders. They incorporated their children into these stunts and coldly referred to their kids as child A and child B.
We see many examples of the Fang family's work in flashback, and they include making their kids rob a bank for lollipops or burying one of them in the sand, with only an arm visible, waving for help.
When the parents go missing, the cops think they were murdered, but Bateman and Kidman consider the possibility that it might be another one of their folks' artistically elaborate practical jokes.
Bateman's sophomore effort is a much more mature, multi-layered film than his last movie, "Bad Words." With this project, he shows himself to be a skilled director with a flair for this sensitive and often darkly comedic material.
Kidman gives one of her best performances in years. She's surprisingly vulnerable and warm.
Plunkett does a nice job too, and Walken, who has become sort of a parody of himself in his recent work, is believable and spot on here. Playing a mad, overbearing artist, who always puts his art above his children's needs and their wellbeing, he nails the role.
Neil Rosen’s Big Apple Rating:
Three and a Half Apples