Critics reviews

Wang (a first-time writer-director with an extensive background in both theater and economics) is dealing with hot-button subject matter, but he cools it down through extended, exquisitely crafted long takes. Commonplace horizontals and verticals—a living-room doorway, a row of elevated kitchen cabinets—provide simple, striking compositions, letting us feel the lived-in domestic spaces that are rocked by Cody and then Chip's absences.

The film climaxes in a riveting half-hour-plus deposition for which Joey has summoned his ostensible enemies, simply so that they will hear him talk. Wang, like Joey, clearly believes that understanding comes through knowledge, the assertion of a shared humanity. This scene is a revelation for all listeners, both those on screen and in the audience: during what amounts to a lengthy monologue, we finally learn about Joey's obscured past.

Set in a surprisingly laissez-faire small town in Tennessee and proceeding by lengthy, sometimes disjointed flashbacks, In the Family is an acute object lesson in the vulnerability of gay parents who haven't gotten around to spelling out the details of property inheritance or child care.

Imagine a raw-nerved Cassavetes feature shot with rigorous Zen contemplativeness and you'll have a sense of In the Family's mesmeric style, which gives every single character their dignified due.

There's an added charge to watching Family's depictions of everyday discrimination in a crowded room, as the live community confronts the one onscreen and is forced to share in its moral failing.

The movie could have been a tale of high drama, even melodrama, but avoids both by focusing on the people, not the problems. Wang wants us to really know who these people are, and in a film with a fairly large cast, that he manages to give us something human in almost all of his characters is downright amazing.

This is one of the most exciting and thoughtful American indies to emerge in recent years. Very few films have simultaneously explored race and sexuality conflicts with such nuance—setting them in motion without succumbing to moralistic conclusions—topped by a lengthy, heartfelt climax that gives a brilliant new twist on the old courtroom battle motif. A shining example of filmmaking for our times: what the new American cinema can and should be.