Everybody's Fine

I first found out about this film when I was going through Sam Rockwell's IMDB page and I couldn't believe I had never heard of a film with such a fantastic cast like this. I mean, Robert De Niro, Sam Rockwell, Drew Barrymore and Kate Beckinsale? Yes please! I also (rather stupidly) assumed this was some sort of rom-com, but I was very wrong. This a moving, sad drama about a father going on a road trip to see all of his children again after losing his wife.

The film begins and we see Frank Goode (De Niro) readying his house for his 4 children's arrival, yet one by one they phone him and cancel on him. We discover that one of his sons, David (Austin Lysy), has been arrested in Mexico, and his other children are hiding it from him. Frank decides to go on a road trip to visit each of his children, and the film follows Frank's journey to each house; first arriving at David's, still blissfully unaware that he is in jail, then to his daughter Amy's (Beckinsale) house in Chicago, then to his son Robert (Rockwell) in Denver and finally to his other daughter Rosie's (Barrymore) apartment in Las Vegas.

This film certainly wasn't what I was expecting, and unlike many other films I have seen before. The film itself is quiet, without much music, and fully endorses you into Frank's life, giving you a real sense of his loneliness. De Niro's performance was moving, and it was refreshing to see him play a role that he hasn't played before. Throughout the film we hear in the background the children's phone calls as Frank crosses country, talking to each other about what to do about David and how to tell their dad, which works extremely well, and also pulls a few heartstrings. And boy, does this film know how to pull heartstrings. Small subtle things like a shot of David's empty flat while an unaware Frank knocks continuously at the door evoke a lot of feelings, and is a powerful image. For the most part there isn't much dialogue, but when characters do speak it always feel very real - like this is a real family and all of this is really happening. We never leave Frank's side throughout the film, which means we never see David, and to me it felt almost as if David had died alongside Frank's wife, and I felt that worked well. 

 This film isn't all doom and gloom. There are lots of moments that are uplifting and sweet, but there isn't really anything in the film that is laugh out loud worthy. Unless you laugh out loud at death.

The cinematography is very beautiful, with wide shots of the different landscapes of each city Frank visits, accentuating the beauty of Amy's house compared to the dank, dirtiness of David's flat. The editing is very good, but for me the stand out in this film is definitely just.. the feeling of it all. It feels so real. The fact that there is no music really brings this film down to earth, and long tense pauses between conversation are literally excruciating to watch - because it feels like you're sitting with them, like you're in the conversation with them. With films like this its very easy to fall into the trap of it being too slow, but the shots of Frank, for example, just sitting on a train not doing anything just feel right, more real, and it works well with the dynamic of the film. 

So, do I recommend this film? This is a hard watch, and definitely one of those films you can only really watch when you're 'in the mood' to watch a moving drama. But I would say give this film a watch, when you want a good cry, or you just want to watch something that has a bit more depth to it than say, Alvin and the Chipmunks 2.