Holiday treat for all seasons

Home For the Holidays is the second directorial treat from Academy Award winner (one that I actually agree with) Jodie Foster. Like Little Man Tate, her first venture behind the lens, HFtH also focuses on a specific family centered environment, during what is universally considered a stressful time of the year.

I can see why some might shy away from seeing this film. It’s not particularly original in idea or in execution. However, I have an affection for films that are bold enough to depict family disfunction in an honest way that can be laughed at and empathized with. Usually slice of life family stories are a string of melodramatic scenes with huge Oscar-buzz monologues that have everyone in tears. Most of these films rely on the tear-jerking moment to bust those box office records. HFtH takes a refreshingly different approach to this in that it almost pokes fun at the usage of blame that is often so rampant in families, and in films. Characters are sarcastically and begrudgingly forced to accept and relearn to live with each other, and in an extremely entertaining way.

Not to mention that a great cast of well rounded multi-dimensional characters fills out this slice of life. There are no perfect people in this setting to get sick of watching, but instead a mix of charismatic, intelligent people who are all very different and yet easy to relate to individually. No easy solutions are offered for their ails, and sometimes there aren’t any answers to be found.

As for the plot, everyone has gone through it at some point in their life. Having to return home (forced by a government sponsored holiday such as Turkey Day) to visit family you find difficult to talk with, hearing about the success and failure of your peers from high school, and trying to figure out “was I adopted? Do I belong here?” The best way to sum up the plot, since it is more emotional than physical, is in two words "family reunion".

It’s a film that first grabs you through the Murphy’s Law day of Holly Hunter. Between being fired after having slept with her boss and her daughter outlining her plans for losing her virginity on the way to the airport, and the final building internal tension of having to deal with your parents alone. This well paced exposition is engaging from the start, but from the moment she gets into the house, it’s the shared world we concentrate on where we no longer dwell on these details until she mentions them.

I appreciated how realistically this group relates to one another. Hunter and Downey treat each other with a humorous, reproachful respect that is layered with love and judgment. It’s very easy to accept that there’s a strong connection between these people and the effects they’ve had on each other by being members of the same family.

If I am babbling a bit about family foible, it is only because I found this to be a well articulated portrait of what I easily accepted as an average family. It positively displays the idea (which I find lacking in most family oriented films) that you may not have any association with your family if they weren’t your family, but since they are, you have learned to live with them as a part of your existence. But not with the usual sense of martyrdom so much as a sense realistic acceptance.

But if the wonderful ensemble acting of Hunter, Downey, and company aren’t enough to hold you to your seat, you can be sure that the dialogue and pacing will. You never get the chance to be bored, even while watching Hunter talk with her daughter over the telephone. After all, they are talking about her daughter’s virginity, and it’s easier for the daughter than it is for Hunter! The shots have to be quick leaps in order to keep up with the conversation and the admirably, ever changing focus of attention.

I like this film because I believed in it whole-heartedly, though I knew it was fiction. I appreciated that the focus was on character interaction, both in the film and with the audience, instead of overemphasizing camera direction. I really enjoyed this simple story, even though it’s been told before and will probably be told again.