Australia's Best Movie Magazine

Film reviews

The Vow

A saccharine and paint-by-numbers slice of romance, which is largely boosted by the appeal of its two leads.

Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace (3D)

The under-utilised 3D adds little to this prequel, which only serves as a sore reminder of the brilliance of the original films.

Any Questions For Ben?

The talented bunch of actors ably cut through the surface gloss, but it’s tough to remain invested in the plight of the self-absorbed lead.

Shame

It starts off as brutal but arresting stuff, and the two lead performances are scorching, but disappointingly dissolves into a case of tragedy for the sake of tragedy.

search the site

Enter search term:

newsletter

Enter your email address below to receive the weekly Filmink newsletter

Enter search term:

The Kids Are All Right (Film)

by Belinda Hazleton | August 31, 2010 12:10 | Edited August 31, 2010 16:46

Driven by excellent performances, this entertaining film provides a fresh view of modern family life.

As a portrait of a long-term marriage and a family, The Kids Are All Right is a familiar and conventional story in many respects. In others, it is fresh, humorous and emotionally involving.

 

The family in question consists of mothers, Nic (Annette Bening) and Jules (Julianne Moore), and their two teenage children, Joni (Mia Wasikowska) and Laser (Josh Hutcherson). They share a comfortable, well-adjusted household in suburban Los Angeles. The controlling Nic works as a doctor, while Jules is uncertain about the direction that she wants her life to take. Eighteen-year-old Joni, meanwhile, is about to leave home and attend college. Before she goes, however, her younger brother is desperate for her to help him track down the sperm donor who is their biological father. Reluctantly, she does so, and is soon in contact with Paul (Mark Ruffalo), a middle-aged hippie and restaurateur. Joni and Laser are drawn to Paul and the lifestyle that he represents, which is in stark contrast to their more stitched-up world. When Nic and Jules learn what their offspring have done, neither is impressed or readily able to deal with the consequences.

 

With The Kids Are All Right, director/writer Lisa Cholodenko (High Art, Laurel Canyon) has made her most mainstream film to date. Although it has a slightly uncertain start, the film soon finds its way, and is ultimately both plausible and entertaining. Not surprisingly, given the calibre of the cast, the performances are uniformly excellent. In the film's second half, when Cholodenko's writing becomes meatier, Bening and Moore are completely convincing as a couple in conflict. And not to be missed is the dining table scene in which Bening and Ruffalo do a duet of a notoriously difficult Joni Mitchell song!

 

This intelligent, non-confronting film doesn't set out to change the world. Rather, it presents a compassionate view of family life today, without judgement or undue comment.