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RATING:   
SINGAPORE - It might be a remake of Giuseppe Tornatore's 1991 Italian film of the same name, but "Everybody's Fine" proves that the family drama is a universal conundrum that anyone can identify with.
Thanks to the solid and understated performance of Robert De Niro and a fairly big name cast (Kate Beckinsale, Sam Rockwell and Drew Barrymore) who rise to the challenge in his presence, what could have been a cloying melodrama about family, dysfunction and its secrets becomes an authentic bittersweet tale of well-meaning lies, redemption and the real strength of family ties.
De Niro is perfectly low-key and heart-breakingly effective as Frank Goode, the widower who decides to surprise all of his grown children with a visit after they all bail on his barbecue weekend at the last minute.
Thus begins the unveiling of familial secrets and the rending of emotional barriers. Thankfully, the individual dramatic crises, although predictable, never once turn mawkish.
Sure, there are some gimmicks used by director Kirk Jones that might try your patience - the repeated use of Frank picturing his offspring as children, for example - but it is this very tenderness that makes the film so quietly remarkable.
De Niro ably captures the "empty nest" disconnection with such seamless reflection and fragility that it made me want to rush home to re-connect with Dad.
To remind him that he is loved and will never be forgotten. - TODAY/ar
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