The Kids Are All Right (2010)
The Kids Are All Right (2010)
8.8/10
As the mostly justified discussion of Inception continues, there is another film out right now that demands just as much attention for its complex adult depiction of a marriage. Lisa Cholodenko, writer/director of the independent films High Art and Laurel Canyon (neither of which, sad to say, I have seen) is telling a story of two people who are meant to be together. On the other hand, marriage takes hard work no matter how strong the couple is. This film is about the complications that arise when a marriage clashes with time and how even the strongest couple can make bad decisions when trying to work through the inevitabilities of marriage. The Kids Are All Right offers hope through its resolution and consistently light tone but at the same time uses that inevitability as a reality that must be faced by all.
Annette Bening and Julianne Moore play Nic and Jules, a couple who have been together for over twenty years. They have two children from the same anonymous sperm donor. Their names are Joni and Laser (Mia Wasikowska and Josh Hutcherson), ages 15 and 18. This is Joni’s last summer before she goes off to college. Since she is eighteen, Laser wants her to find their sperm donor so they can meet. She finally agrees and they secretly meet up with their biological father Paul (Mark Ruffalo). He quickly becomes a part of the family’s lives and upsets the healthy order that had been established by the two mothers and their perfected upper-middle class life.
There is a lot going on in this film and there are many ways Cholodenko makes this stand out. One is that she is not afraid of letting ‘subplots’ go unresolved because her priority is for the audience to get a full sense of this family and these characters. Joni and Laser are struggling with their identities’ in different ways. Paul is struggling with quickly oncoming maturity. Nic is struggling with her wine drinking. Jules is struggling with not feeling appreciated. Each struggles with much more than this but many of these character struggles are identified and somewhat dealt with but are not treated as problems to be solved but rather as indicators of where these people are at in their lives and what kind of people they are.
The exception comes with Jules and her struggle which is the main focus of the film as her decisions have the most hurtful impact on the family. Moore, in one of her best performances without a hint of the overacting she can sometimes slip into, plays Jules as a carefree but very awkward and insecure woman. She needs to feel appreciated and Nic, in the midst of being a doctor and making sure everything else is being done just so, loses track of Jules in the process. Instead of dealing with this issue, Jules concocts a truly selfish and specific rebellion which shows not only her lack of confidence but also her inability to face a problem head on. Moore plays Jules as someone uncomfortable in her own skin; she almost comes off as a nervous high school student giving a speech when she is tense. It is very subtle work by Moore. Jules is someone who does not even understand why she does what she does.
Bening gives another winning performance as Nic (she is always excelled at playing A-type personalities). She is very protective of her family and hyperaware of any outside element that threatens to come between them. Alternatively, the scenes in which she processes Jules’ betrayal are uncommonly touching. Moore and Bening together feel lived in. The length and depth of their relationship is fully felt and it is effortless believing that they have been together for over twenty years. Cholodenko gives us many different scenes that establish what family life is like and what their relationship is like. They are clearly still in love with each other and are not bored in their relationship. We see their sexual activities, the way they discuss problems, how they deal with Joni and Laser and much more.
Mark Ruffalo’s performance impressed me the most. He has a tough role as Paul, the hippie slacker with a heart and terrible decision making skills. It can be easily argued that he has the most progressive arc of any character. He uses and is used. From the start he cares deeply about Joni and Laser but is immature and unable to grasp the consequences of his decisions. He has drifted through life and continues to do so but he realizes too late that applying his lifestyle to an established family and marriage has more of an impact than he is capable of understanding from the beginning. There are many moments with Paul and other characters that end with us focusing on Paul, alone by the end of the scene. His reactions to certain exchanges are very different by the end than they are at the beginning which contributes to the audience witnessing his growth. My one complaint about the film is that it seems to let one character off the hook while placing a bit too much blame on Paul. Paul is certainly partly to blame and a willing participant in what takes place but there are many details of the situation that leads me to my complaint which I will not get into here.
Jules has a speech at the end of the film which is filled with desperation and sad truth. Juxtaposed with moments like Jules speech is the strength of Nic and Jules as a couple after all these years and the note of hope in the film’s resolution makes for a film that is a revealing portrait of marriage without being tragic or depressing. It is the perfect summer film to see from America this year.
Horrorphile
High Art and Laurel Canyon are excellent movies.
Movies and Life
Screen Adventure