A Family Review

Synopsis:
A man living in solitary seeks emotional refuge in the organising and documenting of family moments using low-grade impersonators. When his fake sister becomes inspired to follow his method, their relationship struggles between the forged and genuine.

Cast: Pavlo Lehenkyi, Liudmyla Zamidra, Tetiana Kosianchuk, Larysa Hraminska, Maksym Derbenyov

Directors: Jayden Stevens
Writers: Jayden Stevens, Tom Swinburn

What’s more important than family? It’s a question that Australian director Jayden Stevens explores in his first feature film. Our attachment to family, be that biological or one we’ve made on our own. The human desire for love and acceptance from a small circle of close family members is an idea that is easily translated all over the world, and it’s one that’s explored in one of the oddest ways I’ve ever seen in A Family.

The film follows Emerson (Pavlo Lehenky), a Ukrainian man who has seemingly lived alone for some time and has recently decided to make his own family by hiring actors to play the parts. He writes them scripts and crafts these rather picture-perfect storybook family moments for them to play out on camera like a Christmas morning full of presents and the whole family singing carols in unison. However, Erika (Liudmyla Zamidra), playing Emerson’s sister, begins to push the boundaries of what Emerson will accept. Adlibbing moments and breaking either the re-creation of moments he seeks from his childhood or ruining the fantastical scripts Emerson has crafted for his new family.

Director Jayden Stevens made the brave decision to set the film in Ukraine, and it’s paid off for him. The lonely and isolating sense of dread that fills each frame brings you into an almost unbelievable setting. Every character in the film feels like they’re missing something, battling a sense of abandonment the audience couldn’t comprehend. Cinematographer Tom Swinburn brings a lot to the film in creating these moments, and each frame feels like it’s attempting to re-create a still-photograph moment.

A Family uses an odd and specific premise that could have quickly fallen apart in another director’s hands. However, it’s evident that Jayden Stevens has faith in his material, and his cast trusts him as well. In that regard, it reminds me of a Yorgos Lanthimos or a David Lynch film, although there is an odd comedic quality to A Family, which helps keep it from feeling too serious.

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For the first fifteen to twenty minutes of A Family, it’s hard to look away from the screen. It’s just so odd, and you’re not sure what will happen next, or tonally, what kind of film you’re watching. For the most part, the setup holds, but the film does overstay its welcome at just over ninety minutes. There’s a period where it does feel like Steven has no idea how to finish the movie, and as an ambitious and fascinating film, A Family needed to land the finale better than it does.

As an introduction to Jayden Stevens, I’m highly intrigued to see what this new Australian filmmaker will decide to do next.

A Family is in cinemas this Thursday the 24th in Sydney, Brisbane and Canberra. Coming to Melbourne cinemas on July 8th.