Chameleon actress, Nicole Kidman is undoubtedly one of the most gifted performers of her generation. To Die For (Ready for everything), by Gus Van Sant, Eyes Wide Shut (Eyes wide closed), by Stanley Kubrick, Red Mill !by Baz Luhrmann, The Hours (Hours), by Stephen Daldry, Dogvilleby Lars von Trier, Birth (The birth), by Jonathan Glazer, The Killing of a Sacred Deer (The killing of the sacred deer), by Yórgos Lánthimos, the series Big Little Liesby the late Jean-Marc Vallée: his track record is full of strong productions, enhanced by the brilliance of his acting. Seeming to have been put together in a hurry, the romantic comedy A Family Affair (The underside of the family) is, unfortunately, not of that order.
In fact, this novelty is rather to be placed alongside Bewitched (MA beloved witch) and other remake of Stepford Wives (The Stepford Wives).
The film tells the story of the professional and personal torments of Zara, who is the assistant of Chris, a somewhat stupid man and a neurotic and narcissistic movie star. Although in this matter, Zara is not left out, her own egocentrism becoming the main dramatic driving force in the second part of the film.
Which self-centeredness is tickled when Zara’s widowed mother, Brooke, begins a passionate affair with Chris, who is about twenty years her junior. Appalled, Zara insists that it stop.
Here, we will note a relationship with another recent romantic comedy, The Idea of You (The idea of being with you), with Anne Hathaway as a woman in love with a younger man, much to the dismay of her daughter once again.
In all fairness, the scenario of A Family Affairwritten by Carrie Solomon (her feature debut), has some good lines, especially in the exchanges between Nicole Kidman and Kathy Bates (as the confidant mother-in-law). Brooke’s ultimate refusal to sacrifice her happiness for her daughter’s objections is also refreshing.
Kidman and Bates are both very good, as usual.
Achievement absent
This is not the case with Joey King (the romantic trilogy The Kissing Booth ; Bullet Train/Very High Speed Train), who sometimes plays it right, but sometimes too much: the contrast is apparent during his scenes with Nicole Kidman. Same for Zack Efron (Firestarter/Charlie ; The Greatest Beer Run Ever ; The Iron Claw/The Iron Claw), who doesn’t give off much of a Hollywood star vibe, and who seems to play different characters depending on who he’s with. And between him and Kidman, there’s zero fireworks.
The production of Richard LaGravenese is non-existent. For the record, LaGravenese started out in the industry as a noted screenwriter for films The Fisher King (The Fisher King) And The Bridges of Madison County), in particular, before demonstrating potential as a director with the dramatic comedy Living Out Loud (Hello life). Promises subsequently broken.
In A Family Affair, both the positioning and the camera movements seem completely random — sometimes we are left speechless. Visually, everything is artificial. Telling observation: At one point, Chris takes Brooke for an intimate tour of a movie set imitating New York. However, the rest of the time, the places supposed to be “real” seem just as artificial.
In short, in this unfortunate A Family Affairwe don’t believe in anything, except the talent of Nicole Kidman, who deserved better.