THE FAMILY
Director : Luc Besson
Year : 2013
Genre : Comedy
Rating : **
With films such as 'La Femme Nikita', 'Leon' and 'The Fifth Element' to his name, Luc Besson was one of the most popular and profitable directors working in the 1990's. However in the following decade, he would take something of a sabbatical, serving as a producer for some of the most respected and loved movies of the 2000's such as 'Taken', 'Colombiana' and 'The Transporter' trilogy, only returning to the directorial chair very occasionally for the underwhelming 'Arthur & The Invisibles' and the beautifully shot but ultimately empty 'The Lady'. Starring Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer and Tommy Lee Jones, 'The Family' is somewhat of a return to form for Besson, telling the story of a mafia family who are forced to integrate into a French society when they are placed under a witness protection program. Surely the combination of Besson, De Niro, Pfeiffer and Jones should be cinematic magic, but sadly it really isn't. With an underwhelming narrative, a poorly written screenplay and characters that are generic and highly cliched, 'The Family' fails to emote much but disappointment and a sense of wasted opportunity.
After offending and causing the arrest of a vicious crime lord in Brooklyn, mafia boss Giovanni Manzoni (De Niro) and his family are forced to enter into a witness protection program and are sent to Normandy. In an attempt to blend into their environment, the Manzoni's are given false identities and do their best to hide their violent and bloodthirsty ways. But of course with the legacy of the mafia running through their veins, it is not long before the family leave their mark on the local community.
Stealing entire set pieces from other more popular crime films such as 'Scarface' and 'The Untouchables', 'The Family' can't help but feel highly derivative. Rather than feeling like the golden days of 'La Femme Nikita' or 'Leon', it feels much more like the later much maligned work of Guy Ritchie. I personally rather like Guy Ritchie; 'Snatch' and 'Lock, Stock and Two Barrels' are not at all bad films and 'Sherlock Holmes' is an interesting take on the Arthur Conan Doyle sleuth. However to many people, Ritchie is known as the bargain basement Quentin Tarantino and if Guy Ritchie is bargain basement Tarantino, then 'The Family' is bargain basement Guy Ritchie. The cast are rather unremarkable and De Niro and Pfeiffer have little to no chemistry. I love both Robert De Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer and the idea of them together on screen is a promising scenario. Unfortunately, the promise is quickly broken thanks to a weak script and barely developed backstories.
I really wanted to like 'The Family', I love many of the actors on screen and to a certain degree I like Luc Besson as a director. Alas it really isn't much good at all and apart from a very well written but completely out of place scene of Robert De Niro watching 'Goodfellas' with a responsive French film club, there really isn't anything to recommend at all. Not very funny, not very thrilling and certainly not very interesting, 'The Family' will just serve as cinematic filler before the next Oscar contender wades it's way through and dropkicks it out of the multiplexes.
Stealing entire set pieces from other more popular crime films such as 'Scarface' and 'The Untouchables', 'The Family' can't help but feel highly derivative. Rather than feeling like the golden days of 'La Femme Nikita' or 'Leon', it feels much more like the later much maligned work of Guy Ritchie. I personally rather like Guy Ritchie; 'Snatch' and 'Lock, Stock and Two Barrels' are not at all bad films and 'Sherlock Holmes' is an interesting take on the Arthur Conan Doyle sleuth. However to many people, Ritchie is known as the bargain basement Quentin Tarantino and if Guy Ritchie is bargain basement Tarantino, then 'The Family' is bargain basement Guy Ritchie. The cast are rather unremarkable and De Niro and Pfeiffer have little to no chemistry. I love both Robert De Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer and the idea of them together on screen is a promising scenario. Unfortunately, the promise is quickly broken thanks to a weak script and barely developed backstories.
I really wanted to like 'The Family', I love many of the actors on screen and to a certain degree I like Luc Besson as a director. Alas it really isn't much good at all and apart from a very well written but completely out of place scene of Robert De Niro watching 'Goodfellas' with a responsive French film club, there really isn't anything to recommend at all. Not very funny, not very thrilling and certainly not very interesting, 'The Family' will just serve as cinematic filler before the next Oscar contender wades it's way through and dropkicks it out of the multiplexes.
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