The Family Stone

Thomas Bechuza’s film The Family Stone is a surprisingly intelligent and confident drama centring around a Christmas gathering. I say surprising because the trailer suggested nothing more than a seen-it-before feelgood comedy (albeit with an impressive cast). In actual fact the multiple narratives are brought together effortlessly to create an impressively true to life depiction of a large family and the conflicts that plague them.

Diane Keaton is at the helm, and her brilliant performance is the keystone of the film. She is surrounded by a mostly flawless cast, who are varied enough to provide enough dramatic tension but at the same time form a convincing whole as the Stone family. Actually, ‘flawless’ may be going a little far, but I should point out that I find neither Dermot Mulroney (Must Love Dogs) nor Sarah Jessica Parker interesting enough to carry their own film. The former is looking more and more like Sylvester Stallone every day, and I could almost say the same about his actual performance – rather stoic and lacking in charisma. Sarah Jessica Parker’s Meredith is supposed to be the odd one out, and it seemed as if we should be siding or at least sympathising with her. This is hard to do, however, as apart from a two minute scene before the titles, we only get to see her through the Stone family’s eyes.

The fact that Parker and Mulroney were the central characters and yet I still liked the film is testament to the quality of the supporting performances. Rachel McAdams (Red Eye) is brilliant as the bitchy younger sister, and Craig T. Nelson (The Incredibles) delivers a powerful yet subtle performance that hints at the pain beneath his rather rational exterior. Luke Wilson proves in this film that he could have a decent career in ‘serious’ films if he so chose, and Claire Danes is wonderful as always, even if she gets very little screentime.

The Family Stone is a drama with a lot of character-based comedy, and it is only let down in the last act, which is a little too neat and doesn’t do justice to the rest of the film. I guess I should be thankful that the schmaltz wasn’t laid on until the very end, as a big ‘family Christmas’ movie always has the potential to make one want to gag. The script never lets us down, however, and there are practically no redundant lines or gratuitous exposition. In fact a lot of the film’s dramatic pull lies in what isn’t said, and some of the quieter moments featuring no dialogue are the most powerful.

An extraordinary cast and great direction make The Family Stone solid viewing, even if it fails to maintain its integrity towards the end.