A FAMILY THING (54)

Directed by: Richard Pearce

Starring: Robert Duvall, James Earl Jones, Irma P. Hall, Michael Beach

The Pitch: A middle-aged, casually racist Southerner finds out that his real mother was a black woman, and that he has a black half-brother.

Theo Sez: A case of the dreaded ORLANDO syndrome, in which the right hemisphere of the viewer's brain (supported by the heart and ears) tries to concentrate on higher meanings and character development while the left hemisphere (strongly supported by the eyes) sets up a rowdy chant of "Yeah, right!" : all of which is to say that the notion of Robert Duvall - the personification of Sallow Thin-Lipped White Man - having even a drop of Negro blood in him is, to say the least, somewhat far-fetched. His performance, however, is exceptional (though scarcely more so than those of his co-stars) and the film almost wholly admirable, an exploration of friendship growing organically, through spending time together and without any firm (i.e. glib) turning-points, as well as a touching assertion of the power of telling (and sharing) stories. Unsurprisingly short on surprises, it has something even better - an unhurried dignity about human relationships ; the occasional message-mongering (notably the sub-plot about Duvall gradually becoming ashamed of his racism) only points up the quality of the rest of it.