Family Law

TV Guide Ken Fox

Writer-director Daniel Burman's dryly humorous, poker-faced comedic style is once again in full play in this funny and touching film about a young Argentine man and his aging father, both of whom happen to be lawyers.

Village Voice Ella Taylor

Like his equally father-fixated, and equally wonderful, 2003 film "Lost Embrace," Burman's beguiling tribute to his Jewish father -- or, for all I know, the one he wishes he had -- is warm and deep enough to give humanism a good name.

New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman

Burman tends to focus very tightly on the details of individual identity - religion, nationality, gender. It is all the more striking, then, that his restrained and unassuming films are wise enough to speak to every adult.

Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington

This is a comedy made for people who think, who like smart talk and who, like the Perelmans, know the score.

San Francisco Chronicle Ruthe Stein

It's a serious subject handled with humor -- not the ha-ha kind, but the hard laughter that comes from recognizing parts of yourself in the Perelmans.

The New Republic Stanley Kauffmann

Burman is particularly good at the tiny details that become recognition points in daily patterns.

Variety Jonathan Holland

A deft, witty and emotionally rewarding study of a thirtysomething man in his roles as father and son.

The New York Times Stephen Holden

Delicate, bittersweet comedy.

Washington Post Ann Hornaday

Family Law never really gets to the nitty-gritty of the Perelmans' fraught relationship, instead maintaining a gently ironic distance that, while admirable in its restraint, ultimately lacks emotional fire.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Noel Murray

While Family Law is well-shot, it's not spectacularly well-shot, or involving in any conventional cinematic way.

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

Well acted.

Boston Globe Ty Burr

It's a deceptively small film, one whose observations may continue to detonate quietly in your mind after the lights have come up.

Miami Herald Marta Barber

The filmmaker may not appeal to large numbers of filmgoers. But if you get his humor and delicate style, you'll enjoy his latest work.

Salon.com Andrew O'Hehir

An alternately charming and frustrating comic entertainment.

Chicago Reader Reece Pendleton

Engaging and well acted, the film is admirably low-key, yet Burman's relaxed approach becomes a liability--everything goes down smoothly but leaves one hungry for something more substantial.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Bill White

This is standard fare on the subject of father and son relations.

The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt

A meticulously observed story about fathers and sons within the Argentine Jewish community...What the film desperately lacks, however, is any meaningful conflict. Thus, there is little story here.

New York Post V.A. Musetto

After sitting a while in front of my computer trying to come with the right word to describe the Argentine soaper Family Law, I've settled on "diverting." You will be entertained, but you won't tax your brain.