In the Family
Metascore
82 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 9 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 9
  3. Negative: 0 out of 9
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  1. Time Out New York
    Reviewed by: Keith Uhlich
    Nov 13, 2012
    100
    Wang has made a confidently intimate movie that is devastatingly larger-than-life.
  2. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    Apr 18, 2012
    100
    What a courageous first feature this is, a film that sidesteps shopworn stereotypes and tells a quiet, firm, deeply humanist story about doing the right thing. It is a film that avoids any message or statement and simply shows us, with infinite sympathy, how the life of a completely original character can help us lead our own.
  3. Slant Magazine
    Reviewed by: Rob Humanick
    Nov 28, 2011
    100
    An acutely felt, altogether devastating family drama as intimate and affecting as it is sprawling and untamed.
  4. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Frank Scheck
    May 5, 2012
    90
    This deeply humanistic, profoundly touching work representing independent cinema at its finest should be seen by far wider audiences.
  5. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Robert Abele
    May 3, 2012
    90
    Deliberate and marked by uncommon grace, In The Family manages to feel politically and culturally acute without ever resorting to melodrama, or having to wave banners for issues or causes, except perhaps in its quiet way for a renewed humanism in movies and a return to stories about everyday lives.
  6. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Paul Brunick
    Nov 4, 2011
    90
    Mr. Wang's slow-reveal psychological drama isn't just a showcase for his excellent ensemble cast. Beautifully modulated and stylistically sui generis, In the Family is also one of the most accomplished and undersold directorial debuts this year.
  7. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Andrew Schenker
    Nov 1, 2011
    70
    With an incisive understanding of character, believably naturalistic acting, and lengthy scenes that don't feel stretched out so much as given room to breathe, In the Family proves that smart direction and an innate feeling for one's material trumps potentially precious subject matter.
  8. The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
    Reviewed by: Guy Dixon
    May 31, 2012
    63
    Despite a number of plot twists, In the Family is more about its constant blanks and dead time, its silence and inert camerawork, which require a viewer to fill in the gaps with one's own perceptions of what's happening.
  9. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Mick LaSalle
    Dec 6, 2012
    50
    It is probably unlike any movie you've ever seen, and in ways both bad and good. It is, by turns, inept and brilliant, shockingly amateurish and inspired. To see it is to sit there for long stretches amazed at how clumsy, fake and misguided it is. But then, five minutes later you might easily be riveted and moved by its awkward brilliance.

User Reviews

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User Score
6.4 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 5 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 3
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 3
  3. Negative: 2 out of 3
  1. Etslee
    10
    This film is certainly not for everyone, at almost 3 hours length, with minimal soundtrack and mostly static shots. But I sat riveted until the end, as did most of the audience in the theater.

    The plot sounds melodramatic: a gay Asian man fights for the custody of the son he shared with his deceased lover. But writer/director Patrick Wang, who seems clearly influenced by the understated Yasujiro Ozu and Ang Lee, avoids the easy moral conflicts. Instead, he focuses on the daily lives of mostly average and good hearted people. There are no stereotype villains here. Instead of a Hollywood court battle, we have an almost documentary like deposition meeting that still manages to be dramatic and emotionally true.

    The cast is uniformly terrific, especially young Sebastian Banes as Chip and Brian Murray as the lawyer. Certain quietly powerful scenes still stay with me, like the kitchen scene post-funeral and Chip replaying the audiotape of his father's voice calling his name. Patrick Wang will be a talent to follow!    … Full Review »
  2. TheDavo
    2
    Endlessly long and muddled. Could have been dramatically shorter with better writing and editing. Completely improbable plot changes and ending. I wanted to get up repeatedly and walk out but the theatre was quite full and that would have distracted other movie patrons. DO NOT SEE this movie based on the reviews shown here. This is NOT a very good movie.… Full Review »
  3. ipatrick69
    0
    I could only handle sitting through half the movie so if there is some spectacular ending that I missed I am sorry. There was little to no emotion and I felt nothing for the characters. All the rave reviews were strictly because of the subject matter.… Full Review »
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