In Luc Besson's black comedy gangster thriller The Family (a U.S./France co-production from Relativity Media), a Mafia boss (vividly played by Robert De Niro), his wife (the still-stunning Michelle Pfeiffer), and his family are relocated to a sleepy French town under the Federal Witness Security Program after he snitches.
This very funny black comedy — which gives new definition to the term “crime family” — eventually segues into a violent thriller (with massive use of the F-word) that might actually reignite the ban on individual ownership of assault and military weapons.
As bad as these Mafia families look, the French come out looking just as bad. French director Besson says, "We're not making fun of any one culture. We tried to make fun of everybody."
The Family is almost like watching two different films and a few episodes of The Sopranos. The first 55 minutes are hilarious as the family bumbles their way through another of their revolving-door relocations and papa continues writing his autobiography to explain what motivated his actions; the last 55 minutes are extraordinarily violent, easily earning the film its R rating.
Pfeiffer, De Niro, Agron and D'Leo. Photo Credit: Jessica Forde
What distinguishes the film is another great performance by five-time Oscar nominee De Niro (totally different from his Oscar-nominated performance in Silver Linings Playbook, but just as memorable), whose boundless range spans from comedy and slapstick to volcanic rage, and a revelatory portrayal (even speaking Italian-accented Brooklynese) by three-time Oscar nominee and Golden Globe winner Pfeiffer. Oscar winner Tommy Lee Jones, looking more craggily than ever, is seen off and on as the family's overseer and really has very little to do. He adds little of the flair he's known for.
However, add to this equation two breakout performances by the gorgeous Dianna Agron (you may know her as Quinn on TV's Glee) and John D’Leo, in his first meaty role after featured bits in numerous films and on TV (including Oreo commercials). In a twist on the norm, even if appearances momentarily fool you, the "apples" don't fall too far from the tree with its branches of murderous crime lords, assassins, and thugs.
Director Besson (center) reviews a scene with stars De Niro (right) and Tommy Lee Jones (left). Copyright 2012 EuropaCorp. TF1 Films Production. Grive Productions. All Rights Reserved
Besson admits being "a bit in awe of working with De Niro. I saw Mean Streets and Taxi Driver when I was 15. I just had to roll up my sleeves and get to work. What’s the point of having Robert De Niro if you do nothing special with him? We worked hard. He was asking questions all the time and always pushing to get things perfect."
De Niro says he was attracted to the film’s humor and original point of view. “It’s an unusual take on the mobster genre with a novel storyline. I particularly liked the idea that this French village in the middle of nowhere is the upteenth place the family's been resettled, and once again they end up in hot water. It's a bit surreal, but the characters are real and relatable.”
Always attuned to authenticity, De Niro researched life in the witness protection program, but found a few key turning points needed fine tuning. "There were little things I felt weren’t entirely accurate, so I made a call to an author friend who's written about organized crime. He provided authentic insights which proved invaluable."
Besson, who established an international reputation with 1990's La Femme Nikita and the hit TV series adaptation. He co-wrote the screenplay, adapted from Tonino Benacquista’s novel, with Michael Caleo (The Sopranos, Rescue Me). Oscar-winning director Martin Scorsese is a producer and one of his films, which incidentally starred De Niro, is given a clever homage.
