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Junebug (2005)

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Movie review

From Time Out London

This insightful and pleasing tale of family tension in suburban North Carolina opens with the alienating sound of yodelling echoing over a series of calm images of the neighbourhood; in retrospect, these sonic incursions are portents of impending disruption when absent son George (Alessandro Nivola) turns up after a long absence to pay a visit to his family home with new wife Madeleine (Embeth Davidtz) in tow.

Madeleine’s a metropolitan, British-born art-dealer with a special interest in a naive and somewhat disturbed painter in the area; George’s family are no-nonsense, small-town Christians who have yet to meet their new daughter-in-law. The lines, it seems, are drawn for an almighty culture clash.

But first-timer Phil Morrison and screenwriter Angus MacLachlan are too clever merely to let sparks fly and be done with it. Sure, George’s mother Peg (Celia Weston) is suspicious, his father Eugene (Scott Wilson) is silent and his brother Johnny (Benjamin McKenzie) is aggressive, but MacLachlan’s script crafts each of its characters with care to avoid stereotypes and easy resolutions. ‘Junebug’ is a careful, nuanced study of how families endure and adapt over time.

The film’s heart is George’s pregnant sister-in-law Ashley (Amy Adams, who gives a great, endearing performance). She’s a big-hearted, happy and curious young woman who greets the new addition to her family with loving, open arms; she has her own tragedy too, which allows ‘Junebug’ to scratch beneath the surface of familial relations and reveal something more enduring. A welcome debut.

Author: Dave Calhoun

Time Out London Issue 1860: April 12-19 2006

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You've got to be kidding said...

Posted on Jan 24 2012 08:13 You've got to be kidding me-it's so tarnsparetnly clear now!

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Leona Luk said...

Posted on Aug 12 2007 19:11 Amy Adams was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role here, and it's not surprising. In addition to a great performance, the character is very special to the world this film inhabits. She is the first to really break down barriers not only between the worldly Madeline and the small town Christians, but between the audience and the film characters.
Good stuff.

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