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.