We Were the Mulvaneys (2002)

Memorable, crazy movie

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Although this movie was very emotional, it is more than a soap opera. I think it speaks to religion and the pitfalls of blind faith. Also, I think the competent cast elevated it above mere soap.The story is about a family that functions at a high level - as long as there are no bumps in the road. When the family is tested, not every family member has the inner strength or character to keep the family together.The father sends the daughter away because 'he loves her so much he can no longer look at her'. The mother supports the father, blindly hoping things will work out. The daughter loves the father so much she believes he will change and call for her to come home. She desperately waits for him to call her home, suspended in a state of sadness and shame. She prays and relies on her religion to help her through it. But is is not until she seemingly gives up on God to help her that she slowly unravels from her despair. Weak and lost throughout the story, it it not until she finds the strength to forgive her father and mother so she can move beyond the past and find a life for herself.Once the father - the supposed rock the family was built on - is gone, the family unites again.

This is meant to be a sad and inspiring drama based on a popular novel. I hadn't read the novel and didn't know what to expect. While watching it though I couldn't help but find it hilarious. Not in a bad way though. They take the viewer into the image of a perfectly happy Christian family with no troubles and a great life. They quickly corrupt this image to their full extent with a series of rape, violence, excessive alcohol drinking, child disowning, child-abuse, illegal weapon use and near murder.The plot is fairly simple. A family must test their faith and selflessness when a series of vile acts are befell upon them.Not too intense though and not really the best movie to watch if your bored. It doesn't seem to go in too many directions. Stays fairly simple so the majority of people would probably leave their seat halfway through. But this movie is easy to just sit down too if you want to get in deep with your thoughts. 5/10

Joyce Carol Oates' prose has not been adapted as much as other American writers for the movies. She is not the most accessible author, but her books pack a tremendous impact for her followers.This film suffers from the treatment given to it by Joyce Eliason and its director, Peter Werner. It's clear that such a massive novel has to be trimmed to its bare essentials, and it shows in the 90 minutes of film it was given.Spoilers herein.Michael Mulvaney has a rude awakening from his suburban-sitcom family life when his daughter, Marianne, is raped at the school prom by one of the jocks that happened to be the son of one of the most influential person in town. His wife Corinne Mulvaney, instead of facing reality and be supportive of the daughter, turns away from her, the same way her father Michael does. Corinne is a cold woman, we don't particularly like her because of the role she takes in the tragedy. Corinne takes the attitude of not speaking about the incident with the rest of her children, trying perhaps to shelter them from the truth.Marianne is the butt of cruel jokes in school where everybody knows what really happened to her. Whatever friends she had, instead of being compassionate, they take the jock's side and Marianne has to be exiled to an aunt's house in a nearby town. Thus, this tragedy begins.We watch as the once popular Mulvaneys begin to fall out of grace in their close knitted community, losing most of their money, the farm, and as a family, they start to unravel. Nothing will make them go back to their glory days. The biggest toll is on the father, who becomes a drunk; he deserts the family, who is left alone to fend for themselves. They will reunite at the end, but after it's too late to make amends and save the family.Beau Bridges, as the patriarch, is excellent. This is an under estimated actor who is so versatile, he tends to lose himself from one film to the next. Blythe Danner, on the other hand, is not quite the mother we expected to see. Perhaps with the direction given to her, she makes us not appreciate the nuance with which she plays this character. The real surprise was Tammy Blanchard who played Marianne. At the beginning she is a shy, perhaps sheltered girl who through no fault of her own is made into a victim because of that same naivite quality we see in her. Ms Blanchard makes a beautiful and sweet Marianne.

"We Were the Mulvaneys" tells of a nauseatingly, oh so perfect family not unlike "Father Knows Best" or "Ozzie and Harriet" who suffer a tragedy, a rape, which begins a chain of events resulting in the fission of the nuclear family. Pausing to dwell on the emoting while skipping through time for the rest of the story, everything which happens in this squeaky clean contrivance seems to be little more than an excuse for melodrama making this film just more low budget TV drama queen fodder for Lifetime channel hanky-wringers. Pretty awful stuff made for those who can swallow huge choking gulps of stereotypes, cliches, and melodrama. Recommended for soap opera fans and the like. You know who you are. (C+)