"The Family" Review

Growing up, I always considered my family “dysfunctional”.

Mom’s late picking me up from basketball practice, my sister needs someone to take her to violin lessons on Saturday, and no one wants to clean up the kitchen after dinner.

Though my family have never been the most effective communicators, I’ll take confusion over murder any day.

In director Luc Besson’s mafia-comedy The Family, the Manzonis give “dysfunctional” a whole new meaning.

After ratting out his entire crew, Brooklyn mafia boss Giovanni Manzoni (Robert De Niro) and his family are relocated to Normandy, France under the Witness Protection Program.

Assimilating into the sleepy town proves difficult as new frustrations lead to the emergence of old habits.

When a plumber comes to evaluate the house’s ancient pipes, Gio beats him senseless for attempting to rip him off.

When Gio’s wife Maggie (Michelle Pfeiffer) goes grocery shopping and is rudely informed that the store doesn't sell peanut butter, she burns the place down.

When some creeps make an unrequited pass at 17-year-old Belle (Dianna Agron), she invokes her wrath with a tennis racket.

When some bullies give 14-year-old Warren (John D’Leo) a black eye, he gets back at them by establishing a syndicate, quickly becoming the most respected kid in school.

Some viewers may find these violent scenes to cause jarring shifts in tone, going from lighthearted to bloody at the drop of a hat.

But it’s these moments of unsuspected violence that expose a degree of depth for each character and also drive the film’s black sense of humor.

I liken The Family to another violent, dark comedy: Martin McDonagh’s In Bruges.

There are fine character development and loads of zippy jokes from start to finish, but the comedy never overshadows the violence nor does the violence get in the way of the laughs.

Nothing feels forced.

Though The Family is disappointingly bereft of the belly laughs that made In Bruges one of my all-time favorite movies, you can’t help but chuckle at the very least whenever Gio goes overboard.

The most priceless self-referential joke of recent memory involves his turn as a guest speaker at a local film society’s screening of a certain American classic.

I will not spoil the punch-line. You just have to see it.

It isn’t until the last twenty minutes, when the “goombas” finally catch up to the Manzonis, that the film sheds its playful exterior in favor of a gruesome, high-stakes showdown.

By losing its lightheartedness altogether, “The Family” isn’t as hard-hitting or memorable as it should be.

That being said, the film still boasts stellar performances from a nuanced De Niro and an ageless Pfeiffer, whose turn as Maggie feels like a welcome parody of her roles in “Scarface” and “Married to the Mob.”

Agron and D’Leo also fare well, in addition to a strong turn from Tommy Lee Jones as the Manzoni’s F.B.I. handler. Watching him trade gruff banter with De Niro is a treat.

It’s imperfect, it’s silly, it’s different, but whose “family” isn’t?

Strong acting performances and a subversive sense of humor prove enough to warrant a recommendation for “The Family” as an entertaining night at the movies.

7.5/10