A FAMILY AFFAIR
US, 2024, 111 minutes, Colour.
Nicole Kidman, Zac Efron, Joey King, Kathy Bates.
Directed by Richard La Gravanese.
A Family Affair is a romantic comedy designed for the Netflix audience. And, it was very successful.
The film was written and directed by Richard La Gravanese, longtime screenwriter and director. But the film relies on the impact of its stars, their reputations, bringing them together. And, especially, with the age difference between the actors and their characters in the film, a May-December romance.
At the same time, another film made for streaming, The Idea of You, starred Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Gallantzine, a much more serious take on the relationship, and the criticisms and judgements about the older woman was very successful.
This film has a Hollywood setting. Zac Efron, partly sending up his own image and career, is probably the most callow and self-absorbed film star, working in a superhero franchise, worried about his career, and the quality of the writing – though he is in no place to judge. He is a person of selfish whims, his production assistant having to fulfil all his wishes, and is phone calls at all times of the night, go to buy some food that he decides he wants. The production assistant is played by Joey King.
After the star dismisses his assistant, he goes to her house to ask her to come back and encounters Nicole Kidman as her mother, the widow of many years, an award-winning writer. Perhaps audiences will be taken aback by the swift sexual encounter but this does then become the theme and debating point of the film, the daughter taken aback, warning her mother, finding the actor giving his mother for gift of hearings, a sure sign in the past that he was breaking with a woman. This breaks up the relationship.
One of the advantages of the film is the genial mother-in-law played by Kathy Bates, a good influence on all the characters.
Of course, the daughter relents, the relationship takes up again – and seems to be successful, the mother even working on the screenplays for the films…
- The title, variation on the theme? Romantic comedy? A May-December story?
- The Hollywood setting, studios, actors, agents, assistants? The musical score?
- The focus on the Zara, her age, working with Chris, doing all the work, his taking her for granted, the menial jobs, the issue of rewrites, his whims, her responding, his offhand attitude towards her, changing codes…? Her giving up on him? Her life, her friendships? Her relationship with her mother, memories of the dead father, idealising him?
- Zac Efron, his image from his young days, now middle-aged? The movie star, his whims, tantrums, unreasonable demands on Zara, his attitude towards his characters, the franchise, wanting rewrites, his relationships, with women, breaking up with them, the eeriness and the tour…? A completely callow character?
- Nicole Kidman as Brooke, her age, widow, writer, award-winning, successful, missing her husband? Her relationship with her daughter, supporting her ambitions? Critical of Chris?
- Chris, the visit, meeting Brooke, the reactions, the speed of the sexual encounter, Zara coming home, her reaction to Chris, to her mother? Warning her mother?
- Leila, mother-in-law, friendly and genial, supportive, the visit at Christmas, her urging Brooke to feel free, urging Zara to be tolerant? Her reaction to Chris?
- Chris, wanting to employ Zara again, relying on her?
- The happy couple, together, the dinners, talk, age difference, difference in character and temperament? Zara, her warnings, seeing the gift of the earrings and remembering these is the brush off, and the tour of the studio? Warning her mother, her mother upset?
- Zara, her reactions, her friend, talking things over, her harsh and brash breaking up of the relationship, going to her mother, apologising?
- 12 months later, happy endings, Zara and her being a producer, Brooke and Chris and the relationship?
- A fluffy romantic comedy with the emphasis on the age difference?
