User Reviews

I would like to give this movie a higher rating, but there is something that detracts from it's quality. Duvall is a brilliant actor, but perhaps the whitest guy in Hollywood. His complex is pale, and he doesn't have any curls to his hair. Now, it is hard to believe that Nicole Ritchie is half-black, but you can see she has a darker complexion. Therefore, it is impossible to believe that Duvall's character is half-black.

If Duvall's character grew up in this very white small town, people probably would have suspected he had American Indian, Italian, or Hispanic blood. Duvall's character may have been aware that he was not totally Scotch-Irish. If he were in the Bayou, perhaps it wouldn't be as big a deal. But in farm country of the South, highly unlikely that he wouldn't be aware of something.

I didn't like the fact that Duvall's character goes to the big city and all of a sudden he is being considered half-black. It would be more of an adjustment than the movie portrays. In addition, his nephew probably would have resented him giving advice to him. Why wouldn't James Earl Jones' character be the one to give him advice.

The movie was interesting, but this point severally detracts from it's credibility. I have a better idea. Why not make Duvall's character 100% white, and have the Father having an extramarital affair that produced Jones' character. Jones' is definitely light to medium brown complexion. He could be a believable mulatto.

The Father could be the one dying. On his deathbed he can confess that he had an extramarital affair, and that there was a half-brother to Duvall's character. The Father could leave out the fact that his brother is half-black. Then Duvall's character shows up, and is completely shocked.

This would have been a better idea. Duvall could have been conflicted, because he was so white, but now he had to accept that his brother was half-black. In addition, Jones' family would deal with their own fears and reluctance in accepting Duvall's character. This would have been a more meaningful scenario. It would have forced both races to accept that they have a father in common.

This could have been a truly great movie, but an uneven story and cast kept it from being so. James Earl Jones and Irma P. Hall are outstanding in their roles. Robert Duvall is not. His character Earl is terribly unlikeable and totally unbelievable. (Mary Jackson, however, did an excellent job portraying his dying mother in the beginning of the film. It was a most realistic death-at-home scene.)

In addition, it was strange at times what Earl was doing while in Chicago. The oddest scene being when he is in a high-class restaurant, that obviously was only patronized by blacks formally dressed. Here he is a redneck dressed in jeans sitting in the bar area. How did he get in?

Earl then sees what is obviously a birthday celebration going on at a table. He walks over, congratulates the birthday woman and asks her to dance. Here she is a beautifully dressed woman with her husband and others, and, to be polite, she agrees. Sure.

Next, we see him sitting at their table after the dance boring them with his drunken ramblings. Sure. He is eventually thrown out by the maître d' and a bouncer, both also impeccably dressed, for not having money. Once again, how was he ever allowed in and allowed to disrupt a birthday dinner in the first place?

Another big problem with the movie was never-ending profanity. Realistic? May be, but why alienate a large group of viewers who don't swear like that and don't want to hear it? It may be the main problem with this story is it strived to be "realistic", when it should have strived more to be watchable and memorable.

I have a family like this. Black people come in all shades depending on which gene is prominent. My family goes from blue black to blue eyed blond. Lucky for us we all accept one another!

The plot for "A Family Thing" sounds unlikely when you first hear about it. An Arkansas man gets a note from his deceased Mother that she is not his real Mother, that he is actually the product of a sexual encounter between his Father and the family's black maid. The letter urges him to travel to Chicago to find his half-brother, who is a black man. Sounds like a scenario Hollywood would dream up for a broad comedy ("I'm white, you're black, but we're brothers?" Cue wacky music) or a liberal social piece on how we all should "just get along".

"A Family Thing" takes neither road. Instead it examines the realistic reactions the characters would have in such a situation. It services the racial element without getting preachy, and it finds comedy in unlikely places, but mostly it deals with the topic in a frank, straightforward manner.

Robert Duval plays the bewildered Earl Pilcher, a hard-working equipment rental store owner and self- described "redneck", who suddenly finds the very foundation of his life shaken by his Mother's startling post-mortum revelation. His Father's silence on the matter confirms the story, so Earl hops in his truck and drives to Chicago. He locates his half-brother, Ray, a good-natured Chicago cop nearing retirement, played by James Earl Jones. Ray is polite but cynical about the whole matter, with some deep rooted hatred for Earl's Father that he manages to keep from spilling over to much on to Earl. They part ways, but Earl is car-jacked and ends up in a hospital with a concussion, and the only thing they find on him is Ray's phone number. Thus the stage is set for an unorthodox family reunion.

Duval and Jones hit all the right notes as the perplexed brothers discovering each other, despite their distaste for their shared history. Duval's flawed but decent Earl is reminiscent of his performance in "Tender Mercies", subtle and understated. Jone's Ray is a kind-hearted man who has nursed the wounds from a hard life and come out better for the experiences. In a touching scene, beautifully under-played by both actors, the two men talk about their experiences in the Korean War while preparing to bed down for the night. They are two unlikely brothers sharing a room, and sharing their lives.

Michael Beach plays Ray's angry son, Virgil, a divorced bus driver who lost his chance at athletic stardom to a knee injury. But the most fascinating performance is delivered by Irma P Hall as Ray's (and Earl's) Aunt T. Aunt T is a cranky but soulful old woman who happens to be blind, but she sees things the other characters can't, and teaches them all a thing or two about the meaning of family. A scene where she recounts the night of Earl's birth is the emotional highlight of the film.

Don't expect any fireworks or explosions. "A Family Thing" is mostly a quiet, character-driven story. Do expect to be touched by the simple drama of human lives, relayed by a talented director (Richard Pierce) two insightful writers (Billy Bob Thornton and Tom Epperson) and some very skilled actors.