The Family Fang

— What a curious film [DVD]! This is a little odd, even as it sits among its brethren in the “dysfunctional family” genre. Adult siblings come together when their parents go missing, the same performance artist parents who had referred to their children as Child A and Child B and used them as props and participants in some rather bizarre performance art—things like staged robberies and bloody killings so real that bystanders are convinced they’re real. As adults, both are stalled in their careers and there’s a possibility their parents aren’t really missing, just pretending to be to bolster their careers, which is nothing new since they always placed their art above their children who are, of course, both artists too (one an actress and one an author). Although the parents have less control now, the children are still not fully in control of their own lives. The relationships are clear—an over-the-top, dominating father, a wife who assists him, and children players for the father’s art—but becomes a bit unwound as it tries to end, and tries to raise questions about art and humanity.

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[2015. 105 min. Directed by Jason Bateman. Starring Jason Bateman, Nicole Kidman, Christopher Walken, Kathryn Hahn, and Maryann Plunkett.]
http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-family-fang-2016