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THE FAMILY
THE FAMILY (15)
Run time: 111mins
Director: Luc Besson
Cast: Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer, Tommy Lee Jones, Dianna Agron and John D’Leo
Synopsis: In this action comedy, a Mafia boss and his family are relocated to a sleepy town in France under the Witness Protection Program after snitching on the mob. Despite Agent Stansfield’s best efforts to keep them in line, Fred Blake, his wife Maggie and their children, Belle and Warren, can’t help resorting to old habits by handling their problems the ‘family’ way.
This is an enjoyably dark romp in which the notorious Manzoni Mafia boss and his family are relocated to a small town in Normandy, France, where their handler, CIA Agent Stansfield (Tommy Lee Jones) tries but fails to control them. Fred Manzoni (Robert De Niro), his wife Maggie (Michelle Pfeiffer) and their children Belle (Dianna Agron) and Warren (John D’Leo) can’t help but revert to type, threatening their cover by sticking to the old ‘family’ ways, enabling their former Mafia cronies to track them down. Chaos ensues as old scores are settled in the unlikeliest of settings in this darkly funny film by Luc Besson (Leon, The Fifth Element)
A series of early culture clashes develop eventually into mutual acceptance and a big joke near the end when De Niro, who has been posing as a writer, is invited to give a talk at the local film society.
Good ensemble acting and great chemistry between Pfeiffer and De Niro make this an entertaining and witty diversion.
Images courtesy of Entertainment One UK