rating:
(out of
4 stars)United States; 2005
Directed by Phil Morrison; produced by Mindy Goldberg, Mike S. Ryan; written by Angus MacLachlan
Starring Embeth Davidtz, Alessandro Nivola, Alicia Van Couvering, Scott Wilson, Amy Adams, Ben McKenzie, Frank Hoyt Taylor
'Junebug' will be mostly remembered by an inspiring performance from Amy Adams as the pregnant center of a North Carolina family. The film avoids many clichés and uses only one forced dramatic event, not to become melodramatic, but to give some real insights in the human beings we are slowly starting to like. The start is slow and director Phil Morrison takes his time to establish his characters, but everything seems to be a slice of life and between blockbusters and cliché-filled dramas, I am greatful for that.
In Chicago we meet Madeline (Embeth Davidtz) en George (Alessandro Nivola), six months married after meeting in her art gallery. She has not yet met his family, but when she wants to close an art deal close to them, they decide to hop along too. George's mother Peg (Celia Weston) is hostile, scared of strangers from the big city, as is his brother Johnny (Ben McKenzie). He has his own reasons, and we may not like him at first, Morrison and writer Angus MacLachlan give him one little scene that will change the opinion of most audiences. Father Eugene (Scott Wilson) is distant but likable, and then there is Johnny's pregnant wife Ashley (Adams). She is constantly excited and talks too much, but you want to love her from the moment you meet her.
Like I said, 'Junebug' avoids the clichés most viewers might excpect. Basically it observes, and in this way also sees the little things that might happen in a family get-together. In the end not all problems are solved or dealt with, but we can see how this may happen. At least there is progress, not by changing the characters around, which is never really believable, but by showing them trying to do their best. Family is important, even if you hate being around them for too long. This implication is given by the last line, spoken by a character I would not have guessed it from. Thinking back, he did take a lot of long walks, just by himself. But as soon he was around his family again, he acted like you are supposed to with a family that loves you.