The Family

The Family is a great black comedy. There’s something for everyone in it. The film gradually picks up all the references to the Untouchable, Scar-faced Goodfellas who serve the Godfather and of course rule the Casino. The local film club in that French hick town is decorated with posters for Jacques Tati classics (who else) and even Giovanni Manzoni is well-versed in American cinema and knows about Sinatra in Some Came Running. His better half then coaches French on a dubbed version of Dallas, which is also a great solution. Michelle Pfeiffer was right in that rather than miss out on more scenes with Robert De Niro, like in Stardust and New Year's Eve, she'd rather have nothing - or bed scenes. Their chemistry is flawless, and their offspring - Glee star Dianna Agron (sweet Miss America) and John D'Leo (an enterprising boy who is aware that his father's career on the verge of the lawlessness began at the age of 13 and that he's already 14) - work just as fantastically. I sincerely hope Pfeiffer's next films don't keep us waiting so long, because her charm never gets old. (17/11/2013)

By the standards of recent films of both Luc Besson and Robert De Niro, The Family is definitely above-average entertainment with stylish black humor and a brisk pace. But what makes it a really good comedy is the fact that the story is not just about De Niro and the other characters, in that his family members and FBI agents are also interesting. (19/07/2016)

The Family is another one of those pleasant, not-too-distinctive movies that Luc Besson wrote himself, and this time directed it himself, too. Apart from the fact that the entire mafia family is pretty cool and the French magnates get a pretty harsh treatment, nothing all that important happens thought the movie. But even this peaceful life of one family in hiding must come to an end and so it’s all finished up by a proper shoot-out in the streets of a small French town. De Niro is amazing as usual, the rest is a classic; not that good and not that bad either. (01/07/2014)

Luc Besson returned to directing what he's quite good at. A rougher form of comedy. He chose the theme of mobsters who are relocated to France because they are part of the witness protection program. The choice of Robert De Niro for the main role is quite cliché, but that guy is simply great to watch. References to his mafia past in other films are also intertwined throughout the whole movie. It's entertaining, not too much, it's emotional, not too much, and in the end, it's actually quite good. But not too much. It's like Besson is making things he likes but not putting as much effort into them anymore. "The Family" is a film that amuses but doesn't impress. Sometimes "amuse" is enough. (10/02/2014)