Robert DeNiro has been choosing some very poor projects since the new millennium began. I don't think 'Everybody's Fine' is a great film or a good choice for DeNiro but it is better than it could have been. DeNiro is to thanks for this. He takes this formula and makes it boil. Despite some major problems Everyone's Fine is decent enough to give a look.
DeNiro makes this work and DeNiro alone. Everything else is just merely poor to mediocre. Kate Beckingsale, Drew Barrymore, and Sam Rockwell all give the worst performances of their career in this picture. DeNior on the other hand gives his strongest performance since 2000 as Frank Goode. DeNiro is subdued beyond anything he ever has been. Part of DeNiro's greatness has been his tremendous force and energy. In truth he has never played a character like Frank Goode before. Frank's a shell and DeNiro has the power to make him sad, tragic, and compelling. DeNiro plays the grandfather character and has never played one before. I kind of wish the picture was better but I think DeNiro makes it work.
The direction isn't all that inspired. It kind of wants to be 'About Schmidt' and it kind of fails. I mean so many clichés are used, and yet DeNiro makes it work. The idea of the telephone poles is silly, the idea of the city hopping is silly, and the way the relationships are handled makes every kid come off as a jerk. DeNiro doesn't see this, and he saves this picture.
I really found the last act to be the best of the picture. The film has some major problems in identifying what it wants to be. It isn't a comedy or a drama. The last act though is crystal clear and DeNiro is brilliant in it. DeNiro's character Frank's favorite son is David who has tragically experimented with drugs. David represents the lost part of his heart. In the end he learns David met a tragic end and he blames himself for it. This is good drama. The moment where Goode goes to buy one of David's paintings is very satisfactory. Unfortuneatly the rest of the film doesn't follow suit.
I don't believe Rockwell, Beckingsale, or Barrymore in these roles. Placing them next to DeNiro shows their shortcomings. I don't believe they are working class people. They look like awkward movie stars trying to blend in. DeNiro even in this disappointing decade for him still is able to blend into any role given to him. While this is one of DeNiro's better performances it is the worst of those three actors, who are all very respectable. They play the material for sap, DeNiro plays it with honesty. What the picture should have been about mostly was the lost son. That is what I identified most with.
I have to mildly recommend the picture. It's one that really makes me in awe of DeNiro. It isn't the Taxi Drivers or the Raging Bulls which make me love him. It's the "Everybody's Fine's that don't work unless they have him in the lead.
DeNiro makes this work and DeNiro alone. Everything else is just merely poor to mediocre. Kate Beckingsale, Drew Barrymore, and Sam Rockwell all give the worst performances of their career in this picture. DeNior on the other hand gives his strongest performance since 2000 as Frank Goode. DeNiro is subdued beyond anything he ever has been. Part of DeNiro's greatness has been his tremendous force and energy. In truth he has never played a character like Frank Goode before. Frank's a shell and DeNiro has the power to make him sad, tragic, and compelling. DeNiro plays the grandfather character and has never played one before. I kind of wish the picture was better but I think DeNiro makes it work.
The direction isn't all that inspired. It kind of wants to be 'About Schmidt' and it kind of fails. I mean so many clichés are used, and yet DeNiro makes it work. The idea of the telephone poles is silly, the idea of the city hopping is silly, and the way the relationships are handled makes every kid come off as a jerk. DeNiro doesn't see this, and he saves this picture.
I really found the last act to be the best of the picture. The film has some major problems in identifying what it wants to be. It isn't a comedy or a drama. The last act though is crystal clear and DeNiro is brilliant in it. DeNiro's character Frank's favorite son is David who has tragically experimented with drugs. David represents the lost part of his heart. In the end he learns David met a tragic end and he blames himself for it. This is good drama. The moment where Goode goes to buy one of David's paintings is very satisfactory. Unfortuneatly the rest of the film doesn't follow suit.
I don't believe Rockwell, Beckingsale, or Barrymore in these roles. Placing them next to DeNiro shows their shortcomings. I don't believe they are working class people. They look like awkward movie stars trying to blend in. DeNiro even in this disappointing decade for him still is able to blend into any role given to him. While this is one of DeNiro's better performances it is the worst of those three actors, who are all very respectable. They play the material for sap, DeNiro plays it with honesty. What the picture should have been about mostly was the lost son. That is what I identified most with.
I have to mildly recommend the picture. It's one that really makes me in awe of DeNiro. It isn't the Taxi Drivers or the Raging Bulls which make me love him. It's the "Everybody's Fine's that don't work unless they have him in the lead.