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In Theaters Now
- 2024
- 1 h 18 m
- 2024
- 1 h 18 m
Summary A sprawling family's futile attempts at capturing a family photo take a dreamlike turn when the matriarch vanishes and one daughter becomes desperate to find her.
Directed By: Lucy Kerr
Written By: Lucy Kerr, Rob Rice, Karlis Bergs
In Theaters Now
- 2024
- 1 h 18 m
- 2024
- 1 h 18 m
Family Portrait
72
1.8
Where to Watch
Summary A sprawling family's futile attempts at capturing a family photo take a dreamlike turn when the matriarch vanishes and one daughter becomes desperate to find her.
Directed By: Lucy Kerr
Written By: Lucy Kerr, Rob Rice, Karlis Bergs
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 7 Critic Reviews
72
86% Positive
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
14% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 7 Critic Reviews
72
86% Positive
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
14% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
While free-floating and airy in its construction, the film’s deceiving familiarity slowly erodes, morphing into an unsettling, formally astute brain-tickler observing the placid domesticity of an affluent Texas family in their natural habitat.
If you’re willing to take the plunge, it’s a haunting experience. Whether you come up for air or retreat back into the woods, well, that’s another thing entirely.
Even at 74 minutes, “Family Portrait” sometimes feels like it would have made a stronger 20-minute short film. It’s stuck in that space where a filmmaker has too many ideas for a short but not quite enough meat on the bones for a feature. And yet, a mastery of tone here makes that criticism fade in memory—kind of like how we pick and choose what we remember from family gatherings.
If the edge of Kerr’s scalpel is blunted somewhat by the sheer number of other films that show the “dark underbelly of suburbia,” Family Portrait stands out for its profound mistrust, not just of images but of the sense of sight altogether.
It’s easy to see Family Portrait as a film about familial dynamics (all of which are similarly complex) and a snapshot of an erratic day (all of which are, when the family gathers), but Kerr unearths something buried much deeper. Throbbing underneath the surface is longing.
This closely choreographed chaos, paired with a harsh soundscape that gives off an anxiety-inducing underwater effect, ushers us into an enigmatic story of a family on the brink of unraveling.
By Katarina Docalovich
FULL REVIEW
While it does succeed in creating a bizarre atmosphere that captures plenty of simmering tension, it's trapped between being a proof-of-concept short film and a feature-length effort.
User Score
Overwhelming Dislike
Based on 4 User Ratings
1.8
0% Positive
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
25% Mixed
1 Rating
1 Rating
75% Negative
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
User Score
Overwhelming Dislike
Based on 4 User Ratings
1.8
0% Positive
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
25% Mixed
1 Rating
1 Rating
75% Negative
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.
Production Company
Conjuring Productions,
Insufficient Funds
Release Date Jun 28, 2024
Duration 1 h 18 m
Genres
Awards
Hainan International Film Festival
• 3 Wins & 3 Nominations
Locarno International Film Festival
• 1 Nomination
Chicago International Film Festival
• 1 Nomination