previously published on Cineuropa
Families can be complicated to navigate, and this is usually best observed at gatherings. One such situation is at the centre of Isild Le Besco’s new film My Darling Family, which has just premiered out of competition at the 77th Locarno Film Festival. One initial positive thing going for it could be the fact that Le Besco probably knows a thing or two about the topic of large, chaotic families, since she grew up as part of an artistic clan, while one negative aspect, apart from it being overlooked for selection in one of the competitive sections, could be the fact that the same film, with similar actors and crew, was announced for 2022 under the title Connemara.
The aforementioned region of Ireland is also the location where the majority of the plot of My Darling Family unfolds. Our protagonist and focal point is Estelle (the magnificent Élodie Bouchez), who runs away from her abusive husband Antonio (Stefano Cassetti) and comes to the reunion earlier than planned with her three children in tow. Her mother (Marisa Berenson), referred to only as the Queen, probably because of her opera-diva background, is less than thrilled to see them early and seems uninterested in the children, being intrigued only by her youngest son’s return after 20 years.
The other siblings and half-siblings have their quirks and tempers, too. Janet (Jeanne Balibar) is bossy, Manon (played by the helmer herself) is a moody artist, Jean-Luc (Élie Semoun) has to pass myriad tests to be seen as a part of the family, since he is the Queen’s son from a previous relationship, while Marc’s (Axel Granberger) return causes an additional stir. He comes with a special request from the late father, and it has something to do with the tragedy involving their late sister. Memories, emotions, resentment and secrets resurface in a chaotic, unpredictable turn of events.
My Darling Family could be seen as a mix of tropes that are plucked both from movies about family gatherings and from more sombre reunion pieces, also known as “Big Chill clones”, but the messiness of the characters and relations makes it seem organic, almost like a piece of docu-fiction or auto-fiction work. The messiness, however, also extends to the craft aspects of the film, such as the narrative in the script co-written by the filmmaker and Steven Mitz (with the help of Raphaëlle Desplachin and a number of others), Le Besco’s own directing and the jumpy editing supervised by the filmmaker herself and carried out by a small army of people. It seems like Isild Le Besco’s wish was to try her hand at as many aspects of filmmaking as possible, also including songwriting together with composer Rafko Mekić (whose acoustic mix of piano and guitar usually complements the general sentiment), in order to retain control over the material.
Luckily, she has assembled a great ensemble cast, with Bouchez as a star able to infect the rest of the cast members with her power, heart and soul, and Berenson as a scene-stealer, since she plays the “meatiest” character of them all, while the filmmaker’s acting effort in the role of Manon should also be commended. The presence of Sam Spruell and Geoffrey Carey in bit roles that actually serve only to deliver an occasional pearl of wisdom also helps a little, but not enough to elevate the film to the ranks of an exceptional family-gathering movie. Although Isild Le Besco is not an amateur or a hobbyist in filmmaking, My Darling Family still plays out as a sort of vanity project.