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!
Margot at the Wedding (2007)
6.1/10
Director: Noah Baumbach
Starring: Jack Black, Ciaran Hinds, Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, John Turturro, Fl...
An insightful dramedy starring Nicole Kidman as Margot, an acerbic short story writer who attempts to reconnect with estranged sibling Pauline (Jennif... Read more
Behaving Badly (1989)
6.6/10
Director: David Tucker
Starring: Judi Dench, Maurice Denham, Frances Barber, Joely Richardson, Ronald Pickup
Based on Catherine Heath's book, this 1989 four-part mini-series stars Judi Dench as a woman whose life is initially shattered when her husband decide... Read more
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
8.1/10
Director: Mike Nichols
Starring: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, George Segal, Sandy Dennis
Based on Edward Albee's smash hit play; Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton star in the story of the love-hate relationship between a middle-aged prof... Read more
August: Osage County (2013)
7.2/10
Director: John Wells
Starring: Chris Cooper, Dermot Mulroney, Ewan McGregor, Julia Roberts, Juliette Lewis, Mer...
"August: Osage County" tells the dark, hilarious and deeply touching story of the strong-willed women of the Weston family, whose lives have diverged... Read more
Festen ( The Celebration ) (1998)
7.5/10
Director: Thomas Vinterberg
Starring: Thomas Bo Larsen, Henning Moritzen, Paprika Steen, Ulrich Thomsen
A hugely dysfunctional family arrives at a secluded hotel for a 60th birthday party for the family patriarch. Suffice it to say, things don't go as ch... Read more
Proof (2005)
6.8/10
Director: John Madden
Starring: Gwyneth Paltrow, Jake Gyllenhaal, Anthony Hopkins, Hope Davis
Gwyneth Paltrow reprises her West End stage role as Catherine, the daughter of math genius, Anthony Hopkins. Before her father died he began to slip... Read more
The Door in the Floor (2004)
6.7/10
Director: Tod Williams
Starring: Kim Basinger, Jeff Bridges, Jon Foster, Mimi Rogers, Elle Fanning
Tod Williams wrote and directed this drama, adapted from John Irving's best-seller 'A Widow for One Year'. Ted and Marion Cole (Jeff Bridges and Kim B... Read more
Thumbsucker (2005)
6.6/10
Director: Mike Mills
Starring: Lou Taylor Pucci, Tilda Swinton, Vince Vaughn, Vincent D'Onofrio, Keanu Reeves,...
Striking the perfect balance between adolescent awkwardness and black comedy, this film stars Lou Taylor Pucci as a neurotic 17-year-old whose coping... Read more
Terms of Endearment (1983)
7.4/10
Director: James L Brooks
Starring: Shirley MacLaine, Debra Winger, Jack Nicholson
Winner of five Oscars including Best Picture, the story of the changing relationship between a mother and daughter over the years, mixes humour and he... Read more
A Map of the World (1999)
6.7/10
Director: Scott Elliott
Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Julianne Moore, David Strathairn, Ron Lea, Arliss Howard, Chlo...
Alice (Sigourney Weaver) and Howard (David Strathairn) have moved to a small town to pursue Howard's dream of owning a farm. An outspoken woman, Alice... Read more