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!
Lady Bird (2017)
7.5/10
Director: Greta Gerwig
Starring: Laurie Metcalf, Lois Smith, Saoirse Ronan, Odeya Rush, Tracy Letts, Timothee Cha...
Christine "Lady Bird" MacPherson is a high school senior from the "wrong side of the tracks." She longs for adventure, sophistication, and opportunity... Read more
The Child ( L'Enfant ) (2005)
4.2/10
Director: Luc Dardenne, Jean-Pierre Dardenne
Starring: Jeremie Renier, Deborah Francois, Jeremie Segard, Fabrizio Rongione, Olivier Gou...
Sofia and her boyfriend Bruno are two irresponsible teens living on the bottom rung of the social ladder. When Sofia falls pregnant and gives birth t... Read more
And When Did You Last See Your Father? (2007)
Director: Anand Tucker
Starring: Jim Broadbent, Colin Firth, Juliet Stevenson, Gina McKee, Elaine Cassidy, Sarah...
Colin Firth and Jim Broadbent star in this adaptation of poet Blake Morrison's best-selling memoir that explores the complex relationship between fath... Read more
Elizabeth (1998)
7.5/10
Director: Shekhar Kapur
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Geoffrey Rush, Joseph Fiennes, Christopher Eccleston, Richard At...
Before the Golden Age, Elizabeth was a passionate and naive girl who came to reign over a land divided by bloody turmoil. Amid palace intrigue and att... Read more
I Love You To Death (1990)
6.4/10
Director: Lawrence Kasdan
Starring: William Hurt, Kevin Kline, Tracey Ullman, River Phoenix, Keanu Reeves, Joan Plow...
An off-beat comic love story inspired by true events, about a wife who tried to kill her philandering husband several times, and yet at the court case... Read more
The Seventh Continent (1989)
7.8/10
Director: Michael Haneke
Starring: Dieter Berner, Udo Samel, Leni Tanzer, Birgit Doll
A provocative and chilling depiction of a family who have lost contact with one another. Anna and Georg live with their daughter Eva, and while every... Read more
Arrested Development: Season 1 (2003)
8.9/10
Director: Greg Mottola, Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
Starring: Jeffrey Tambor, Jessica Walter, Liza Minnelli, Ron Howard, Alia Shawkat, Will Ar...
In this critically acclaimed hit sitcom, you'll meet the suddenly penniless, and equally clueless, Bluth family. Accustomed to their wildly affluent l... Read more
Heights (2004)
5.5/10
Director: Chris Terrio
Starring: Glenn Close, Elizabeth Banks, James Marsden, Jesse Bradford, Eric Bogosian, Matt...
A smart ensemble drama revolving around 24 hours in the lives of five ambitious New Yorkers. Glenn Close is the link as a Broadway diva who's just fo... Read more
Arrested Development: Season 3 (2005)
8.9/10
Director: Various
Starring: Will Arnett, Scott Baio, Jason Bateman, Justine Bateman, Michael Cera, David Cro...
This set includes the complete third and final season of the genius, Emmy-winning comedy that was cancelled by people who 'just didn't understand'. Th... Read more
Then She Found Me (2007)
6/10
Director: Helen Hunt
Starring: Matthew Broderick, Colin Firth, Helen Hunt, Bette Midler, Ben Shenkman
Helen Hunt directed, co-wrote and stars in this engaging seriocomedy about a middle-aged schoolteacher whose life is thrown into turmoil when her husb... Read more