FILM REVIEW: LIFELINES.

As anyone who has been through it could tell you, Family Therapy just isn't fun. And unfortunately, it's usually employed too late in the game. So when the Bernstein family packs the kids into the minivan to meet with a therapist, we all know that a big announcement is about to be made. The teenaged brother and sister and ten year-old brother all know that their parents are on the verge of splitting up, so the divorce announcement does not shock them. What does pull the rug out from under their feet is the main reason for the split: their dad is gay.

That revelation kicks off a five-way screaming match—not surprising, given the simultaneously weary and contemptible way the family had interacted up to that point—prompting the at first unflappable therapist to send all but the caffeine addict mother out to the waiting room. Dr. Livingston (Joe Morton) changes his plan by speaking with each family member alone, in their turn.

That's when Lifelines get good. Up until this point, none of the characters seemed especially sympathetic. Older brother Michael (Robbie Sublett) is withdrawn and easily frustrated, a condition exacerbated by a severe stutter. Meghan (Dreama Walker) is fifteen years old and sees hypocricy at every turn, but especially where her mother is concerned. Younger brother Spencer (Jacob Kogan) is hyperactive and quick to run away at the slightest provocation, which brings no small amount of grief to Ira (Josh Pais), the often condescending father, and Nancy (Jane Adams), the mother who is always at the end of her rope. These aren't awkward but endearing quirks this family is dealing with, but rather serious issues that make everyday life less than enjoyable.

But as each member of the family gets their turn with the good doctor, something interesting happens: the Bernsteins become a little more human, and their uncivil behavior becomes a little more understandable. Big secrets are revealed in a way that other directors might have puffed up with too much false emotion, or other screenwriters might have imbued with unrealistic eloquence. Lucky for us, writer/director Rob Margolies keeps things messy and plausible, thus making the Bernsteins all the easier to believe.

Lifelines isn't perfect. A big coincidence at the end of the film just barely lands on the right side of credulity, and at one point the doctor tells Michael that stuttering is categorically caused by witnessing a traumatic event; any speech pathologist would tell you that this is an extaordinarily rare phenomenom. But these complaints pale against the bravery of the performances and the sharpness of the dialogue. It isn't always fun, but, much like family itself, Lifelines is definitely worth your time.
 

Lifelines opens Friday, April 3rd
Quad Cinema
34 West 13th St
(212) 255-8800