By: Cynthia Ayala
When their father passes away, four grown, world-weary siblings return to their childhood home and are requested – with an admonition – to stay there together for a week, along with their free-speaking mother and a collection of spouses, exes and might-have-beens. As the brothers and sisters re-examine their shared history and the status of each tattered relationship among those who know and love them best, they reconnect in hysterically funny and emotionally significant ways.
– Synopsis provided by movie | fone
A film with a lot of heart as the characters deal with the loss of their father and see where their lives have fallen compared to what they wanted. Jason Batemen plays Judd and he is the main protagonist in this film. The film opens with him coming home to discover that his wife is having an affair with his boss, and has been for a year. With nothing left after he quits his job and divorces his “whore of wife” – direct quote from the film – he gets a call from his sister, played by the ever so charming Tina Fey, informing him that that their father has passed away.
As the family participates in Shiva, a dying request from their father, the kids, all grown up, are brought back together in this film. They don’t necessarily get along, but the passing of their father gives them an opportunity to bring them together, and it’s not done in a cliché way. These actors convey a sense of loss and love as they bond together in some of the more unconventional ways and help one another see their lives through other perspectives, giving them a chance to reevaluate their own lives.
As a whole, the film was amazing. The story was expertly written, capturing the family dynamic perfectly, the cast delivers perfect and heart wrenching scenes that capture who these characters are and provide a perfect balance for the drama that is within the film. Take Tina Fey for instance who plays a mother of two in the film who has married a workaholic when her true love is living across the street, Horry, played by Timothy Olyphant. Her delivery of a lost woman who isn’t necessarily stuck in a loveless marriage is funny and sad, but overall captivating. And the entire cast and story does that, propelling the film forward allowing for character growth and chemistry between the characters in enigmatic ways.
This Is Where I Leave You is a spectacular film full of a lot of heart and emotion with that added touch of the light comedic heart. It will make you sit there and marvel at these characters and their lives and even make the viewer look at their own. ★★★★ | A+
Directed by: Shawn Levy
Written by: Jonathan Tropper
Based on This Is Where I Leave Youby Johnathan Tropper
Starring: Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Adam Driver, Rose Byrne, Corey Stoll, Kathryn Hahn, Connie Britton, Timothy Olyphant, Dax Shepard & Jane Fonda
Genre: Comedy drama – R| 1 hr. 43 min.