Everybody's Fine

For the last few years Robert De Niro has made a very limited range of films - alternating mainly between studio-thrillers and mainstream comedies that teamed him with various leading comic actors (Billy Crystal, Eddie Murphy, Ben Stiller). Everybody's Fine breaks this pattern by placing him into the 00s indie genre. It puts him into a new framework and actually gets something different out of him. I was expecting a slightly tacky attempt to get De Niro back into the Oscars game, but this film is a lot better than that - calling to mind the growing traditions of 21st century indie dramas and eliciting some of De Niro's best work in fifteen years.

Frank (De Niro) is a retiree and recent widower who finds himself spending Christmas alone after each of his four children make excuses not to come. Feeling alone and isolated, Frank takes it upon himself to embark on a quest across the country, spontaneously visiting each of his children in turn. He finds himself revisited by his maxim, "Work hard. Be the best", and the consequences this has had on his offspring. Frank starts to realise that the lives they now lead may not match up with the picture they and his wife presented to him in the past, and he will have to decide whether to confront this or continue his life in the dark.

Parts of the film work as a bittersweet fable - as Frank visits each child he is challenged by each one a little bit more than the last. The audience comes to see him less as an awkward, out-of-touch grandfatherly character and more as a working class man who placed unrealistic pressure and high expectations on his children. The subplot that follows Frank's journey of rediscovery is the mystery of what has happened to David (his unseen, artistic son), and why his children are keeping it from him. There's Amy (Kate Beckinsale), the highflying advertising executive, Robert (Sam Rockwell), the orchestra musician, and Rosie (Drew Barrymore), a dancer in Las Vegas. Some of the film's charm and cleverness lies in the deception and clues that surround who Frank thinks each child is and who they really are, though most of the film's success is down to De Niro's performance.

This is completely De Niro's film in a way that so few of his roles in recent times have been. He's surprisingly endearing as the lonely father who's lost touch with his kids, and brings a sincerity to the role that matches his best work in the 1970s. He's like one of those old people you meet in shopping centres or on the bus and they just want to talk to someone. It's a little bit sad, and the performance completely disarms the viewer and places Frank with our sympathy and pity... which makes it all the more affecting when we start to learn of his domineering past as strict father (which should be more familiar territory for De Niro fans). The shock of this realisation comes as much to us as it does to him, and it's a great piece of empathic filmmaking that ensures the viewer is with Frank for every step of his emotional journey. It could be argued that the supporting characters aren't given enough depth but I think this would be missing the point. The fact is, this film focuses on Frank and his lack of knowledge regarding his children, so the way that it's scripted or acted is entirely conscious of this.

The film isn't just De Niro's great characterisation though. It's about the lines of communication that inform our relationships - something made explicit by both Frank's career as a telephone-wire manufacturer and the visual wire motif embedded in the film's script and sequencing. It's also a highly engaging story about how families operate, about the hard truths and the love that makes them hurt so much. A surprisingly good drama.

DIRECTOR: Kirk Jones
WRITER/SOURCE: Written by Kirk Jones, based on a script by Massimo De Rita, Tonina Guerra and Giuseppe Tornatore.
KEY ACTORS: Robert De Niro, Drew Barrymore, Sam Rockwell, Kate Beckinsale, Melissa Leo, James Frain.

RELATED TEXTS:
- Based on the film Everybody's Fine, an Italian movie made in 1990.
- There is also some thematic/genre similarity with the film About Schmidt.

AWARDS:
Paul McCartney was nominated for Best Song at a few minor awards festivals.
Nominated for Outstanding Film and Best Actor (Robert De Niro) by two lesser known American film awards associations.