In the Family (Patrick Wang, 2011)

7/10
Patrick Wang's directorial debut (which he also wrote and stars in), he was actually here in person to present it yesterday, but I couldn't make it. So I went tonight instead. Wang stars as Joey, a man who loses his partner Cody in a car accident. An old will from his partner gives custody of their son Chip to Cody's sister Aileen (Cody is Chip's biological father), who absconds with Chip. Joey has no legal right to Chip despite co-raising him for six years, and the movie's primary thrust deals with Joey trying to reunite with his son. If it sounds like a dozen Hollywood "one person's impossible fight" courtroom dramas, it really isn't. At 3 hours in length, the movie is composed of long, static takes (sometimes a little too long). Wang refuses to play on the audience's emotions, but it's restraint to a fault. Despite losing his partner and his son within a week of eachother, Joey is never once shown crying or even really angry...or anything at all. I admire Wang's decision to go in a less "weepy" direction, but it dehumanizes his character and the movie, despite such heavy subject matter, seems emotionally vacant. One thing I did especially enjoy, however, was the way Joey and Chad's sexuality impacted the movie. A more ham-fisted writer would have used homophobia and discrimination to throw obstacles at Joey in his struggle. Although Joey's sexuality is what leads to his unique legal situation involving his son, nothing that happens to deter him is attributed to homophobia. Cody's sister is, more than anything, trying to do right by her just-deceased brother, while the litany of lawyers who won't touch Joey's case are doing so not because he's gay, but because according to the law, he has no case. It was refreshing and interesting to see a movie focus on two gay men yet refusing to use their sexuality as a crutch. It's a very intelligent movie, well-written and strongly acted, but I wish Wang would have indulged the audience's emotions a bit more because it's much more dry than it should be.