What lengths are too extreme in the pursuit of great art?
This question is the central focus of Jason Bateman’s new film The Family Fang, a dark comedy in which the emotional implications outweigh the narrative to great effect.
The movie follows Annie (Nicole Kidman) and Baxter (Bateman), siblings who spent most of their early lives as supporting players in their parents’ real-world performing art pieces. These pieces are meant to shock and outrage, taking the form of fake bank robberies or a tiger mauling, while ignorant bystanders watch on with mouths agape. To some, their work is inspired. Others think they’re a joke.
Whatever the case, such an upbringing is enough to mess up any children, and Annie and Baxter (or, as their parents call them, Child A and Child B) are certainly messed up. Annie is an actress desperately clinging to a failing career, while Baxter is an author two years past the deadline for his new novel.
Eventually, an incident forces the family back together. It’s been some time since the siblings have performed with father Caleb (Christopher Walken) and mother Camille (Maryann Plunkett), and during this period the parents’ art has suffered. When Annie and Baxter refuse to take part in one last escapade, Caleb and Camille decide to go on holiday to alleviate their disappointment.
The next day, their car is found. The interior is bloodied, and the police declare Caleb and Camille missing.
As mentioned earlier, the mystery of the disappearance proves less important than its ramifications on the lives of Annie and Baxter. Unable to decide whether to be concerned about their parents, or to dismiss the discovery as a stage in one of their more elaborate pranks, they scramble to come to terms with their past in order to make sense of their future. After all they’ve been through, is the disappearance a blessing or a curse? Yes, Caleb and Camille treated them like pawns for the sake of their art, but is that reason to forget that they are still family? These answers will change everything.
Bateman delivers an emotional and vulnerable performance that stands amongst his best. He captures the essence of Baxter, who has never been able, nor really needed, to distance himself from his parents quite as aggressively as Annie. Kidman is less effective. Her Australian accent is jarringly present throughout, and when she lets loose her emotions, she does so not as compellingly as Bateman or Walken, whose Caleb is a man disappointed by the apathy of his children and, indeed, the world at large. Plunkett is a standout as the quietly loving Camille, though her role is least vital.
In the director’s chair, Bateman does a great job of harnessing the darkly comedic and sometimes tragic energy of the film. There are some moments that feel like they would have been better handled by someone more experienced, but this is the most minor of complaints.
Ultimately, what many will perceive as the film’s strong point may be seen as its weakest by others. As provocative and authentic as The Family Fang is, it doesn’t spend much time on the actual search for Caleb and Camille. A more conventional audience could find this disappointing, especially considering the complexity of the outrageous performances that brought the family fame, but in the end, Annie and Baxter aren’t looking for their parents. They are looking for themselves.