Shadows on the Wall | A Family Affair

A Family Affair

dir Richard LaGravenese
scr Carrie Solomon
prd Jeff Kirschenbaum, Joe Roth
with Nicole Kidman, Zac Efron, Joey King, Kathy Bates, Liza Koshy, Sherry Cola, Wes Jetton, Ian Gregg, Sarah Baskin, Zele Avradopoulos, Vince Pisani, Olivia Macklin
release US/UK 28.Jun.24
24/US 1h51

TORONTO FILM FEST

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Playfully wallowing in a fantasy of the rich and famous, this lively comedy is enjoyably silly as it creates conflict out of thin air. Although it's difficult to sympathise with the problems of such entitled people. Skipping along on the surface, it's a movie that never challenges the viewer, making knowing observations that we've heard before while coasting on the A-list charms of Nicole Kidman and Zac Efron.

As personal assistant to mega movie star Chris (Efron), Zara (King) has to always be on her toes, and at 24 she's also waiting for her own life to start. Finally fed up with his thoughtless demands, she quits in a huff. But he turns up at her house to apologise, surprising her mother Brooke (Kidman), an author who has never moved on after her husband died. And they become intrigued by each other, finding it easy to talk. As they tumble into a relationship, Zara freaks out, launching various attempts to sabotage it.

Solomon's script is carefully constructed with just about every show business cliche imaginable, from the glamorous, picturesque trappings of Chris' life to the tensions that rise between Brooke and Zara. In need of support, Brooke turns to her editor Leila (Bates), her former mother-in-law, who tells her to live a little. Feeling betrayed by both her mom and her boss, Zara turns to her best pal Eugenie (Koshy). But of course this isn't about Zara, even as the drama escalates around her in the usual contrived ways.

Because everything is so carefully constructed, and everyone acts according to the script rather than actual human logic, there isn't much the actors can do with the roles. But the cast members relax in ways that bounce engagingly off each other. Kidman and Efron generate some sparky chemistry, even if their romance isn't hugely believable. And King doubles down on Zara's self-centred nastiness. But we are never in doubt that she'll come around.

Everything here feels predictable, as the script resists trying anything even remotely bold or fresh. But director LaGravenese and his talented ensemble cast work together to make the movie thoroughly watchable. Brooke knows that being with this celebrity hunk who's 16 years her junior makes absolutely no sense: it makes her feel great, even though she knows it will hurt when it ends. But you can't live your life thinking about the end.

themes, language, sexuality 28.Jun.24

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