Family Relationships in the Context of Films

Shawn Levy's 2014 film This is Where I Leave You provides a bittersweet story regarding the Altman family and it's struggle to find its identity consequent to the father's death. The director likely intended to provide viewers with a light and somewhat predictable movie in an attempt to address the complex idea of a dysfunctional family. The film has all the typical ingredients for a dark comedy and at times viewers are probable to identify with characters as they realize that the film presents a situation that most people are hesitant about even considering (even with the fact that most individuals are going to experience it at one point in their lives).

Some viewers can feel that the topic has been discussed in a series of cases, with numerous films addressing the idea of a family funeral revealing secrets about the person who died and about individuals attending the event. The truth is that the film's apparent shallowness is one of the things making it possible for viewers to comprehend the complex ideas it puts across. This is Where I Leave You brings on very common subject (that of a dysfunctional family) and proceeds to address all the less visible elements that viewers are likely to be interested in.

As the storyline progresses the motion picture becomes more and more focused on the idea of a family working as a tool to improve people's lives. All of the siblings attending the funeral are obviously disturbed and their mother, in spite of her profession as a celebrity psychologist, seems to have a limited ability to address her children's problems. The family is composed out of stereotypical characters, as we have Jason Bateman playing a serious family man coming home one day to find his wife cheating on him with his boss, eldest son Paul (Corey Stoll) and his wife Annie (Kathryn Hahn) are successful but unable to get pregnant, Tina Fey is playing Wendy, the older sister who is fun but is always trying to help her brothers, and the youngest brother, Phillip, a man who wants his family to take him seriously.

Considering the overall nature of the film, it would only seem normal for someone to consider that it was not designed to promote family values. Even with this, the motion picture actually goes on to address some of the most uncomfortable ideas regarding family life. It does not attempt to glorify the concept of a family or to present viewers with a story where everyone is eventually going to be happy. Instead it encourages people to accept that families can and will create a lot of issues in one's life and that the respective person might and should attempt to distance themselves from their families. This does not mean that families are bad, however, as it only m eans that families are as human as something can possibly be. Even with all of the problems that they bring on, families are able to help individuals through hardship and to make them realize when they go through life failing to follow their hearts.

Phillip constantly seems to treat things superficially and is a narcissistic and detached family member. As the storyline progresses, however, it becomes visible that he is in fact interested in influencing his brothers to see him as an adult rather than as the child they've been used to several years before. This also makes it possible for viewers to look beyond appearances and understand the man's complexity. His brothers appear to comprehend this and decide to provide him with the opportunity to work in the sporting goods store that the Altman children have inherited. As previously said, this influences viewers to ignore appearances and to understand the family unity that emerges from a series of ideas, ranging from the father's death to brotherly love that is initially reluctant and eventually manages to reach the protagonists' hearts.

Paul and Judd themselves feel a type of divergence as the former believes that the latter is trying to seduce his wife. The reality is that Judd and Quinn actually try to comfort each-other as a result of the difficult moments the family is experiencing, with the event having nothing to do with romance. Another intriguing concept about this occurrence is that Phillip emerges as the person trying to make peace between the two brothers. Even with the fact that he fails at doing this, the act is nonetheless interesting when considering the fact that most people would be inclined to perceive Phillip as the neutral brother who has no interest in solving family problems.

Phillip's connection to his sister Wendy becomes visible when he steps forward and acknowledges that she is the closest thing he ever felt to a parent. The fact that he thinks about his sister when coming across a situation when a normal person would think about his or her parents providing advice emphasizes the important role that Wendy had in his life. This also makes it possible for viewers to understand the circumstances of Phillip's upbringing -- his parents were likely less resourceful as a result of them already having had three children and were not as invested in their youngest son's childhood.

The relationship between Wendy and Judd is probably one of the most compelling in the whole film. Their connection seems to transcend typical brother-sister relationships and is a link between two human being having a complex understanding of each-other's presence in the world. From the very first moments when they are reunited Wendy presses Judd to come forward with his marital problems. While this might seem like a drunken moment when she no longer has the ability to put across rational thinking, the truth is that it shows the degree to which she sees family as a means to help people through difficult times.

With the storyline progressing Wendy and Judd become more realistic regarding their lives and consult each-other in order to be able to observe what happened to them that made them reach points where they no longer felt like they meant something.

The whole film seems to be a story of regret and while most viewers would like that, things don't really get better. The overall motion picture is aimed to encourage viewers to accept the fact that problems do exist and that they are likely to experience them during their lives. No one is trying to sugar-coat life in general, as This is Where I Leave You is actually focused on raising public awareness concerning the presence of bad stories in society. Even with the fact that the film might seem depressing for some viewers, its purpose is actually to emphasize the significance of being realistic. Every Altman child seemed to have a promising life at one point, but then things changed and they realized they were in a desperate position. These people are struggling to rebuild their lives and to ignore their problems, but their father dies. While one can perceive this as a critical moment due to the fact that they all had troubles before the event, the film virtually demonstrates that sometimes people need to go through a shocking experience in order to be able to change their lives for the better.