Six Of The Best: Family Dramas

The best family drama stories often focus on the dynamics between the entire family. But what makes a good family drama? They typically dive deep into the personal relationships of two or more family members either focusing on their conflict or love for one another. Cinema often aims to portray all types of families and the best ones often come to a formed resolution over the course of the movie.

The latest one to delve into family dynamics is Joachim Trier’s Palme-d’Or-nominated drama Louder Than Bombs, which looks at the repercussions felt by a broken family when they come together to celebrate the achievements of war photographer Isabelle Reed (Isabelle Huppert) three years after her death. Her eldest son Jonah (Jesse Eisenberg) returns home to spend time with his father Gene (Gabriel Byrne) and younger brother Conrad (Devin Druid), though the way each member of the family have dealt with Isabelle’s passing have separated them more than they immediately realise. To celebrate the film’s release on DVD & Blur-ray from August 15th, we’ve rounded up ten of the best family dramas cinema has to offer.

Louder Than Bombs
Three years after her untimely death, an upcoming exhibition celebrating famed war photographer Isabelle Reed (remarkably played by Isabelle Huppert) brings her eldest son Jonah (Jesse Eisenberg) back to the family home, forcing him to spend more time with his father Gene (Gabriel Byrne) and withdrawn younger brother Conrad (Devin Druid) than he has in years. With the three of them under the same roof, Gene tries desperately to connect with his two sons, but they struggle to reconcile their feelings about the woman they remember so differently. Louder Than Bombs features stunning performances from each of the three leads, with impressive support from Druid in a breakout role. The sophomore feature from award-winning Norwegian filmmaker Joachim Trier is a thoughtful, engaging and ultimately uplifting examination of grief, loss and fraught family ties.

Boyhood
The Richard Linklater directed film is often considered a modern masterpiece and one of the best films ever. It follows Mason Evans Jr (Ellar Coltrane), his younger sister Samantha (Lorelei Linklater) and their divorced parents Olivia (Patricia Arquette) and Mason Sr (Ethan Hawke) to chart Mason’s life from childhood to adolescence. The remarkable thing about Boyhood is that it was filmed over the course of 12 years, using the same actors. Production of the film began without a completed script and Linklater incorporated changes he saw in each actor into the story, letting his cast contribute to the writing process. The risk paid off as it scooped up awards for best film, director, and supporting actress for Arquette at the 2015 BAFTA’s.

August, Osage County
Starring a heavy-weight ensemble cast consisting of Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Ewan McGregor, Benedict Cumberbatch, Abigail Breslin and Juliette Lewis, the film follows a dysfunctional family forced to reunite after years when their patriarch (Sam Shepard) suddenly disappears. During their time together as a family, the acidic Violet (Streep) slowly falls down a trap to insanity over her missing husband, while her oldest daughter Barbara (Roberts) fakes being together with her estranged husband Bill (McGregor) for the sake of her mother. With outstanding performances from the cast, and Oscar-nominations for Streep and Roberts, August, Osage County delves into family dynamics, exploring darker undertones.

The Descendants

Award-winning The Descendants stars George Clooney as Matt King, a Honolulu-based attorney who’s left in charge of 25,000 acres of undeveloped land on Kauai island. He must decide what to do with it alongside his extended family, who also have ownership of the land. But he’s also forced to deal with his two daughters Alex (Shailene Woodley) and Scottie (Amara Miller) who’ve been acting out since their mother entered a coma after a boating accident. As he tries to deal with the issue of the land, Matt has a hard time reconnecting with his daughters in this touching drama based on American author Kaui Hart Hemmings’ novel of the same name.

The Squid and the Whale
A dysfunctional family of intellectuals is torn apart when university professor Bernard (Jeff Daniels) and prominent writer Joan (Laura Linney) split. The break-up turns them sour, while their sons Walt (an early role for Jesse Eisenberg) and Frank (Owen Kline) take sides. Walt stays with Bernard, and Frank with Joan, with the film following their insecurities as cracks within the family dynamics grow. The film mainly focuses on the two brothers and the impact of the separation on them, in this piercingly honest look at family dynamics.

Hannah and Her Sisters
Woody Allen directs, writes and stars in Hannah and Her Sisters, a film focusing on the intertwined stories of an extended family over two years. Told in three arcs occurring during a 24-month period, the film begins and ends at Thanksgiving parties hosted by Hannah (Mia Farrow) and her husband Elliot (Michael Caine). It features an ensemble cast consisting of Allen, Michael Caine, Mia Farrow, Carrie Fisher, Barbara Hershey, Maureen O’Sullivan and Max Von Sydow, and has been regarded as one of Allen’s finest works.

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John McArthur

Editor-in-Chief at Moviescramble. A Fan of all things cinematic with a love of Film Noir, Sci-Fi and Julia Roberts in Notting Hill. He hopes to grow up some day.