When the barista in the coffee shop or the cashier at the grocery store asks, “And how are you today?” they don’t really want to hear you’re really bummed out because your second cousin twice removed scratched his elbow. No, they would rather hear you lie and say “everything’s fine.” The film “Everybody’s Fine” directed by Kirk Jones (“Nanny McPhee”) explores one family’s search for truth in a world clouded by superficial dialogue and secrecy.
Frank Goode, (Robert De Niro, “Righteous Kill”) recently retired and widowed, struggles to fill the void his wife’s death left in his fabric of the family. After all of his children cancel their plans to visit him, Frank undertakes a surprise journey of his own. Frank learns to embrace good and bad life events and enables his family to reconnect by overcoming shallow relationships created from the insincere use of the word “fine.”
Before Frank realizes his children have canceled their plans, fragmented shots of De Niro vacuuming the house, watering the lawn and trimming the hedges capture Frank’s desire to reunite his family. The cinematography in the film allows the audience to experience the emotional content as vividly as the characters.
Cinematography also makes Frank’s delusional perspective accessible to the audience. Throughout the film, when Frank speaks to his adult children, they appear on screen as he remembers them from their childhood. Frank’s refusal to shatter the innocent memories of his children and view them as adults prevents him from accepting their imperfections.
Often the film assumes dreamlike qualities. Prophetic strangers give meaning to Frank’s journey. One conversation between Frank and a truck driver shifts Frank’s understanding that, “Facing up to the truth isn’t always easy.” While another fleeting character, a man in a diner, tells Frank soon his kids will be so busy he will have to make an appointment just to see them. This is a fate De Niro’s character actively strives to avoid.
The film has a rhythmic quality. The regularity with which Frank takes his medicine while sitting on a hotel bed connects the different locations he visits into one cohesive journey.
Telephone wires also link plot content. As Frank travels by bus or train and watches the miles of telephone wires pass, the audience hears the disembodied voices of his child discuss one somber family secret in an indirect aside. It is ironic that earlier in the film Frank marvels, “Think of all the conversations that have happened on that wire, the good news … the bad news,” because unbeknownst to Frank, his children are transmitting bad news they endeavor to keep from their father via the wires.
Movies like “Christmas with the Kranks” — where the three previews that loop continuously on TV capture the entirety of the plot — give holiday movies a bad reputation. “Everybody’s Fine” far exceeds these low expectations by which to judge holiday films. Although the audience may have been familiar with some of the film’s notable one-liners, the context provided by the film only increases their audience appeal.
One such example adds humor to the film’s introspective ambiance. When Frank sat waiting for his son on an apartment stoop and was approached by a prostitute who cooed, “Wanna see my leg?” De Niro proceeds to mischievously smile and counter, while pulling up his trouser, “Wanna see mine?”
Through De Niro’s endearing, genuine and heartfelt portrayal of a father who has lost touch with his kids, it is easy to see why “Everybody’s Fine” has won two Hollywood Film Festival Awards. The word fine does not even begin to describe De Niro’s powerful performance. Alongside De Niro, Drew Barrymore (“Whip It”), Kate Beckinsale (“Whiteout”) and Sam Rockwell (“Moon”) contribute talent to the film.
The word fine can be used as a verbal construction to avoid confronting life’s problems or it can be used as a building block to forge deeper relationships. “Everybody’s Fine” is a must-see movie this holiday season when relatives will no doubt ask, “And how are you doing?” Before responding, “Fine,” while really thinking, “Wow, this eggnog is bitter,” remember De Niro and don’t be afraid to set the truth free.
4 stars out of 5.
