Dysfunctional Families
Perhaps because it's something nearly all of us can relate to (apart from The Bradys), messed-up families have always been a popular subject for filmmakers in all genres. Whether you're playing it for laughs ('Arrested Development', 'Go For Zucker'), drama ('Kramer vs Kramer', 'Nil By Mouth'), or thrills ('The Quiet Family', 'Olivier, Olivier') the family dynamic is a deep well of ready-made love/hate relationships, seething resentments and hidden secrets. What more could a filmmaker, or a film-watcher, ask for!
At Home with the Braithwaites: Series 1 (2000)
6.8/10
Director: Andy De Emmony, Robin Sheppard
Starring: Lynda Bellingham, Peter Davison, Amanda Redman, Sylvia Syms, Sarah Smart
When housewife Alison (Amanda Redman) wins the lottery, she keeps her winnings a closely guarded secret for fear that it will corrupt her family. Mean... Read more
Married With Children: Season 4 (1990)
8/10
Starring: Amanda Bearse, Christina Applegate, Ed O'Neill, Katey Sagal, David Faustino, Dav...
Loud-mouthed. Obnoxious. More vulgar than ever. We wouldn't have them any other way. Make room on the couch for Married With Children: The Complete Fo... Read more
Mommie Dearest (Blu-ray) (1981)
6.7/10
Director: Frank Perry
Starring: Diana Scarwid, Faye Dunaway, Steve Forrest, Mara Hobel
Based upon the best-selling book by the adopted daughter of film legend Joan Crawford, Christina Crawford literally blew the lid off the private life... Read more
Life is Sweet (1990)
7.5/10
Director: Mike Leigh
Starring: Alison Steadman, Jim Broadbent, Claire Skinner
Another slice of working-class life focusing on an endearing couple and their iconoclastic twin daughters - one of whom is waist-deep in self-loathing... Read more
One True Thing (1998)
7/10
Director: Carl Franklin
Starring: William Hurt, Meryl Streep, Renee Zellweger, Tom Everett Scott, Nicky Katt
An exceptional, moving drama about a tough, cynical New Yorker (Renee Zellweger) whose mother (Meryl Streep) becomes afflicted with a serious illness.... Read more
The War Zone (1999)
7.4/10
Director: Tim Roth
Starring: Ray Winstone, Tilda Swinton, Freddie Cunliffe, Lara Belmont
A dramatic, emotionally raw look at a working-class family in England's countryside being torn apart by incest. Actor Tim Roth's directorial debut fol... Read more
Little Children (2006)
7.5/10
Director: Todd Field
Starring: Kate Winslet, Patrick Wilson, Jennifer Connelly, Noah Emmerich, Gregg Edelman, J...
Based on Tom Perrota's novel, and adapted for the screen by himself and director Todd Field, this darkly wry drama of suburban malaise, judgement and... Read more
Infinitely Polar Bear (2014)
7/10
Director: Maya Forbes
Starring: Mark Ruffalo, Zoe Saldana
A manic-depressive mess of a father tries to win back his wife by attempting to take full responsibility of their two young, spirited daughters, who d... Read more
The Blue Lagoon (1980)
5.7/10
Director: Randal Kleiser
Starring: Brooke Shields, Christopher Atkins, Leo McKern, William Daniels
In the Victorian period, two children are shipwrecked on a tropical island in the South Pacific. With no adults to guide them, the two make a simple l... Read more
Benny's Video (1992)
7.2/10
Director: Michael Haneke
Starring: Angela Winkler, Ulrich Muhe, Arno Frisch, Ingrid Stassner
Benny is a disaffected teen whose life has begun to revolve around the violent films he watches, but his obsession soon crosses the line between voyeu... Read more