DVD Review: Everybody's Fine

Everybody's Fine. 96 minutes. Rated M. Written and directed by Kirk Jones.

Films about the paradoxical relationships fathers share with their children are rare beasts in Hollywood's 'big picture' output. The grand-parents of them all – films like The Godfather, Father of The Bride and Guess Who's Coming To Dinner? – successfully reached into the dim, dark vault of family drama. And while the circumstances that give meaning and purpose to these values differ dramatically, audiences can't help but bring their own unique and very personal experiences of family to films that dare to take the subject on.

With Everybody's Fine, Kirk Jones (Waking Ned Devine, Nanny McPhee), with the help of an arresting performance from a perfect Robert De Niro, has risen to meet this challenge and has delivered a heartfelt, unforgettable film of genuine emotional authority.

Frank Goode (De Niro) has been left alone after the death of his beloved wife, who (as wives and mums so often do), has nurtured and attended to every finite detail of family life. When, at the last minute, each of his four adult children suddenly become unavailable to attend a reunion at the family home (the first since their mother's passing), a wary and suspicious Frank sets out on a journey across America to surprise each of them with a visit instead. What he learns in the process will challenge his life's experience of being a hard-working father and husband.

Based on the 1990 Italian film Stanno Tutti Bene (Everybody's Fine) starring the incomparable Marcello Mastroianni, Kirk Jones's English-language adaptation bucks the trend of Hollywood feeding like piranha on the jewels of European cinema with a distinct lack of respect. The result is a perfectly-structured story that gently unravels, before all the various strands unite in a marvellously inventive sequence – played to the hilt by De Niro – around an outdoor dining table.

Beautifully and insightfully directed, Everybody's Fine is helped considerably by the work of Cinematographer Henry Braham (who was cinematographer on Jones's earlier films as well as the ravishing The Golden Compass). Braham ensures that the photographic essence of the film perfectly matches the incandescent, searching qualities of De Niro's central performance. Drew Broughton's (House of Sand and Fog) art direction and Andrew Jackness's production design combined to create the film's stunning visual aura which enhances the story, and the compelling performances, at every turn.

And if there is such a thing as the perfect cast, then this film has it in spades. The performances from the first-class ensemble of Hollywood stars (Sam Rockwell, Drew Barrymore, Kate Beckinsale and Austin Lysy play the siblings) are flawless. But ultimately, it is De Niro that anchors this film in the purest of reality – resulting in a film of intricately layered, intimate detail. Just be ready to tell your dad how much you love him … and have the box of tissues handy.

Everybody's Fine will be available on DVD from 2 June, 2010.

DVD Review: Whip It

Whip It. 117 minutes. Rated M. Directed by Drew Barrymore. Written by Shauna Cross, based on her novel Derby Girl.

As long ago as the late 1880s, newspapers were reporting about the emergence of a new phenonemon: racers on rollerskates. Today, the contact sport that would become known (and trademarked) as 'roller derby' is enjoying a global renaissance that is captivating a new generation of participants and their devoted fans. It is an inspired world of indie-chicks with fantastic 'stage names', awesome costumes, strict rules and plenty of attitude. That it remains an almost exclusively female domain lends the sport a serious amount of enigmatic fascination.

Bliss Cavendar (Ellen Page) is suffering from a severe case of the small-town blues. When she is not working part-time at a local fast-food outlet 'The Oink Joint', she is being mercilessly dragged around to a never-ending calendar of beauty pageants by her mother 'Brooke' (the superb Marcia Gay Harden), who is determined that her plain-Jane daughter will fulfill her all-American obligation and become a Beauty Queen. But when mother and daughter are out shopping for new shoes and a group of girls rollerskate into the shop to deliver a handful of leaflets for an upcoming roller derby competition, Bliss's life is changed forever.

Whip It marks the directorial debut of actress and producer Drew Barrymore who, since she was catapulted to international fame as 'Gertie' in Steven Spielberg's ET: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982), has celebrated her life and career as one of absolute self-definition. It is, therefore, hardly surprising that she should choose to bring Shauna Cross's inspirational story about the extent to which this fascinating sport brought about such significant change in her life, to the screen.

Ellen Page (who was nominated for the Best Actress Academy Award for her performance in Juno), is fantastic as Bliss. She is well-supported by a great supporting cast which includes Juliette Lewis as 'Iron Maven', Barrymore as 'Smashley Simpson', Saturday Night Live's Kristen Wiig as 'Maggie Mayhem' and Alia Shawkat as her best friend and confidante 'Pash'. Bliss's 'Hurl Scouts' teammates are complemented by actual roller derby stars, which not only lends the film a crucial authenticity in its many fast and furious roller derby sequences, but also balances out the recognisable actors in the cast with a nicely-grounded lack of pretension.

While it eventually suffers from a serious bout of roller derby repetition and fatigue, Whip It wins points for opting to keep it real. It also benefits from a great soundtrack and some powerful confrontations about the importance of independence and aspiring to live the life you want to live. It's also interesting to discover a film that places burgeoning young love in a meaningful context, and the manner in which Bliss refuses to have her exciting new journey interrupted for very long by her love for young muso Oliver (Landon Pigg), is absolutely refreshing. Ultimately, Whip It is a very impressive debut behind the camera for Ms Barrymore, and a film that will, if nothing else, introduce the wonderful world of roller derby to yet more fans and followers.

This review was commissioned by the Geraldton Newspapers Group and was published in the print edition of the Midwest Times.