Surviving Family

Dear Mara Lesemann, Thanks so much for sharing "Surviving Family" with us! We loved it. We laughed and cried. The characters are so real and believable. I love getting absorbed in a film like yours, and feeling empathy for the characters, and really wanting them to fight through the pain of the past to get back to the joys of living. The interaction between the siblings rings so true -- love and annoyance and familiarity and clinging to past impressions. It makes me want to reach out to my siblings, and reminds me that we all go through the whole range of good and bad, but that our families are our permanent past of which we must make the best, for the sake of our future. Keeping creating and sending out your messages of art to the world, because it is stuff we all need to hear. And tell Carlo Fiorletta that his performance reminded me of the time that he was my supervisor at BT (just kidding, there were no nuns there...)

Surviving Family, is as good as a movie comes for indie productions, I thoroughly enjoyed watching, it was well written, well shot and well acted, a breath of fresh air compared to the Hollywood factory. With actors portraying family members we can all relate to, it draws us into the movie with compelling performances scene after scene. The good reviews it has received so far are purely fair comment on a deserving piece of work. I especially found the actors believable, which is often lacking on low budget films where casting is often an afterthought. Unsurprisingly it has had it's fair share of prizes and awards. If you haven't watched an indie film before then this will be a revelation to see what can be done without big names and even bigger budgets.

Surviving Family paints a realistic view of a dysfunctional family and the resultant baggage each member carries. It demonstrates how children can be affected by tragedies especially when their "whys?" go unanswered and how the consequences of family secrets can distort the truth and affect their relationships as they grow up. Every once in a while a movie challenges you to think.This is that kind of movie. The actors are great. Phyllis Somerville, a veteran actress finally clears the air about the Malone family for niece Terry played by talented Sarah Wilson. Her fiancée is played by Billy Magnussen who went from this movie on to Broadway and is now debuting in Steven Spielberg's INTO THE WOODS.Incidentally, he's a hunk. For those of you who are Soprano fans Vincent Pastore plays the mayor of the town. This is a well written, well acted, well photographed unpretentious movie that makes you think.See it. You'll like it.

Not literal ghosts ... although I reckon some may feel that way. Our own family may seem crazy to us, but sometimes if we compare it to other families ... they might be quite sane in comparison. That being said, this is a low budget effort and I am quite surprised it gathered so much festival love (I reckon the prizes and nominations are from that - I might be wrong).

That being said, the movie is really well done. Interesting relationships and well performed (good) dialog too. Something that is not really a given in low budget movies, but usually I try to give/cut them slack if that happens. Pacing is good, but may be too slow for some. Depending on where you come from, you may cherish this or be annoyed by it. Just be sure to know what this is (about) and if it is something you want to see in general.

About halfway through this film, as we were continuing to unravel the mysteries of Tara, her family, and her past, it occurred to me that the script had to have been written by a woman. Nothing wrong with that, but the men seemed to pop in for a few minutes and then disappear. The father, literally. The brother, most of the time, except for his reappearance at the wedding. An old boyfriend at the bar, her sister's first husband "for about six weeks."

Not sure why Aunt Mary's role had her heading to Atlantic City with the senior citizens, rather than making the wedding, but her disappearance seemed odd as well.

Okay, I get it. Families are hard, esp. when mom is bipolar. Oh, and now the niece is too. Will this same malady be visited on the newborn?

Then there were the actors: easy on the eyes but somehow missing the touch of reality that comes from better acting. The sister in particular looked like her face was pinched. The Say Yes to the Dress scene added very little to the film, and the wedding cake bit didn't provide much either.

The entire film felt like someone had a bipolar member in the family, it hit hard, led to years of therapy, and was turned into a film.

Thumbs down.