A Family Thing (1996)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Richard Pearce

Writers (WGA):

Billy Bob Thornton (written by) &
Tom Epperson (written by)

Release Date:

29 March 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

United Artists Pictures invites you on a journey... you will not soon forget.

Plot:

Earl Pilcher Jr., runs an equipment rental outfit in Arkansas, lives with his wife and kids and parents...

Plot Keywords:

Childbirth | Arkansas | Chicago | Half Brother | Family Relationships

Awards:

3 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Robert Duvall	...	Earl Pilcher Jr.
James Earl Jones	...	Ray Murdock
Michael Beach	...	Virgil
Irma P. Hall	...	Aunt T.
Grace Zabriskie	...	Ruby
Regina Taylor	...	Ann
Mary Jackson	...	Carrie
Paula Marshall	...	Karen
James N. Harrell	...	Earl Pilcher Sr. (as James Harrell)
Lauren Leigh Phillips	...	Kindra
Ashleigh Jordan	...	Danielle
David Keith	...	Sonny
Sandra Quarterman	...	Young Aunt T. (as Saundra Quarterman)
Patrice Pitman Quinn	...	Willa Mae
Don James	...	Junior Turner

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some strong language, brief violence and a childbirth scene.

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS

Certification:

Iceland:L | USA:PG-13 (certificate #34066) | Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12 (video premiere) | Spain:7 | UK:15 (video premiere)

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

Butcher's Run Films

Trivia:

Although the storyline has James Earl Jones' character being about 6 years older than Robert Duvall's character, Duvall is actually older than Jones -- by 12 days.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Virgil and Ray are saying goodbye for the first time in front of Ray's house. Virgil is standing behind the car and the car moves before the engine starts. The next frame shows the car still in place then moving forward.

Quotes:

Earl Pilcher, Jr.: I used to play a little ball. I was small, but I made up for it by being slow.

Movie Connections:

Features Red Dawn (1984)

Soundtrack:

Spirit In The Dark

Acceptance & forgiveness - if only it was this easy

A Family Thing is a drama about a Southen man (Duvall) who's mother reveals on her deathbed that he was not her child. Rather he was the result of a forced encounter between his father and the black help. In order to keep a promise Duvall sets off to find his half-brother (Earl-Jones).

Although the story seems to be about race - it's main theme is one of forgiveness and acceptance of others, with race being one of the barriers to break down.

All the characters have their own barriers to overcome - Duvall has to confront the fact that he is not white, Earl-Jones has to deal with his hatred of past events and Michael Beach has to come to terms with missing out on pro-football and the breakup of his marriage. Only the sagely aunt T. (Irma P. Hall) has the ability to accept everyone for whom they are - partly due to being blind "and not being able to judge folks on what they look like".

It's not an earth shattering piece of story telling and at times doesn't seem to have a consistent flow to it but it held my attention throughout and was actually quite rewarding.

It's all a bit tidy (in real life, nothing gets sorted this easy), but it definately makes you think.