6-year-old Chip has two daddies, Cody and Joey. When his biological father Cody is killed in an auto accident, Cody’s sister takes custody of Chip, and Joey fights to get his son back. Writer-director Patrick Wang stars as Joey, and what makes In the Family more than just another social issue picture is Wang’s authenticity as a writer and brilliance as a director.
Wang uses long scenes shot by a static camera and an almost silent soundtrack to draw in the audience. We watch Joey being told of Cody’s death through a hospital window and we only hear the passing truck traffic. We see the kitchen when Joey and Chip come home after the funeral – Joey sits stunned, fingering the mail, and Chip, yearning for some normalcy, sets up beverages. The film climaxes with Joey’s testimony at a deposition, mostly shot from the end of a conference table. These are some of the most compelling scenes that I’ve seen this year.
The problem with In the Family is that it is 2 hours and 47 minutes long. There are long films that need to be long (e.g., Once Upon a Time in Anatolia), but this isn’t one of them. There’s probably a 130 minute indie hit somewhere inside In the Family.
It’s clear that Patrick Wang is a fine actor and an unusually talented writer-director (who needs to find an equally talented editor). I’m certainly looking forward to his next work.