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!
Running with Scissors (2006)
6.2/10
Director: Ryan Murphy
Starring: Annette Bening, Brian Cox, Joseph Fiennes, Evan Rachel Wood, Alec Baldwin, Jill...
Based on the memoir of Augusten Burroughs, this dysfunctional '70s family comedy/drama has an outstanding ensemble cast with Annette Bening as the del... Read more
Postcards From The Edge (1990)
6.7/10
Director: Mike Nichols
Starring: Meryl Streep, Shirley MacLaine, Dennis Quaid
Based on Carrie Fisher's best selling autobiographical novel and revolving around the caustic relationship between a mother and daughter and satirisin... Read more
Christmas (2003)
7.2/10
Director: Gregory King
Starring: David Hornblow, Darien Takle, Helen Pearse-Otene, Tony Waerea
Broke, jobless and chronically depressed, eldest son Keri returns to the family home for Christmas, where he must face the emotional train-wreck that... Read more
A Christmas Tale (2008)
7.1/10
Director: Arnaud Desplechin
Starring: Catherine Deneuve, Emmanuelle Devos, Hippolyte Girardot, Mathieu Amalric, Melvil...
In Arnaud Desplechin's beguiling concoction, Catherine Deneuve brings her legendary poise to the role of Junon, matriarch of the troubled Vuillard fam... Read more
When A Man Loves A Woman (1994)
6.6/10
Director: Luis Mandoki
Starring: Andy Garcia, Meg Ryan, Ellen Burstyn, Tina Majorino
Standout performances as Meg Ryan plays Andy Garcia's alcoholic wife. She gets help, but it takes its toll on their marriage. They try to pick up the... Read more
Towelhead (2007)
7/10
Director: Alan Ball
Starring: Summer Bishil, Peter Macdissi, Maria Bello, Aaron Eckhart, Toni Collette, Eugene...
Aka 'Nothing Is Private'. Writer Alan Ball ('American Beauty', 'Six Feet Under') makes his directorial debut with this controversial adaptation of Ali... Read more
Father Of The Bride (1991)
6.5/10
Director: Charles Shyer
Starring: Diane Keaton, Kieran Culkin, Martin Short, Steve Martin, Kimberly Williams, Geor...
A good remake of the '50s comedy masterpiece about a father unwilling to let go of his little girl. Steve Martin, Diane Keaton and Martin Short star. Read more
The Weather Man (2005)
6.6/10
Director: Gore Verbinski
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Michael Caine, Hope Davis, Michael Rispoli, Gil Bellows, Gemmenne...
This darkly funny and moving tale of mid-life crisis stars Nic Cage as Dave Spritz, a successful weather man who feels his life is slipping away, refl... Read more
Meantime (1983)
7.2/10
Director: Mike Leigh
Starring: Marion Bailey, Phil Daniels, Gary Oldman, Tim Roth, Alfred Molina
From one of Britain's finest directors comes this witty, compelling black comedy of life on the dole. For the permanently unemployed Pollack family, e... Read more
The Intruder ( aka L'Intrus ) (2004)
7.8/10
Director: Claire Denis
Starring: Michel Subor, Gregoire Colin, Florence Loiret-Caille, Bambou , Katia Golubeva
Based on the short story by philosopher Jean-Luc Nancy, acclaimed director Claire Denis' visual exploration into the world of second chances and aband... Read more