Everybody's Fine (2009)
*** (out of 4)
Robert DeNiro plays a widower who grows tired of his four children making excuses for not coming to see him so he disregards his doctor's orders and takes a trip to visit all four. Along the way he starts to think about their childhood and where their lives are at now. I remember when THIS BOYS LIFE was released it featured a trailer that would make you think you were walking into one of the greatest family films ever made even though the actual film was a dark one about child abuse. I mention that because this film is pretty much the same effect as the poster, TV ads and trailer makes you think that you're in for a good time but the film is actually an incredibly depressing affair but it finally gives star DeNiro a true character and he does great work with it. Now, I'm not one of those who thinks DeNiro has wasted one performance after another for the past twenty years. I think he's given several very good performances even though many of the characters weren't the strongest items for an actor of his range. The performance here is downright terrific and truly deserves to be called that "old DeNiro" style. DeNiro doesn't need words to show what his character is feeling and he perfectly brings to life this rather sad character who is smart enough to know there's a lot more going on with his children then they're willing to tell him. I found DeNiro to be perfect and one would hope he'd get some Oscar consideration but that probably won't happen considering how the film did at the box office (but I would ask why that should matter). DeNiro gets to interact with various characters and the amount of life he brings this character will make one remember the type of work he was turning in on a consistent basis years ago. I won't ruin DeNiro's big scene towards the end but it's certainly very overwhelming. The supporting cast has Drew Barrymore, Kate Beckinsale and Sam Rockwell playing the children and they all give fine performances and mix with DeNiro very well. I do wish the actual film would have been a bit stronger because it's extremely depressing but at times I felt the film was holding back. I really can't explain what but it just never really felt like a full movie and at times there were some plot details that were a tad bit over dramatic and other times that the film pushes too hard to get its point across. While the film does have its share of problems, the real reason for anyone to watch this is for the return of DeNiro and that alone makes this worth seeing. Again, not the happiest film out there but at least we get to see DeNiro playing his best character in quite a while.
