The first thing to be said about this film is that it has a fantastic
cast.
Jane Fonda plays the matriarch of the Altman family, the centre of the
story. The rest of the cast is a list of many of the best American TV actors of
their generation.
Jason Bateman (from Arrested Development) plays the middle brother in a
family of four siblings whose father has just died, Tina Fey (30 Rock) is his
sister, while Corey Stoller (House of Cards) and Adam Driver (Girls) are the
other brothers.
Then there is Rose Byrne (Damages), Timothy Olyphant (Deadwood,
Justify), Kathryn Hahn (Suburgatory), Abigail Spencer (Rectify), Connie Britton
(Nashville
The litany of recognisable faces is almost distracting, and in some ways
the quality of the cast overwhelms what is a relatively slight film.
Nevertheless, This is where I
leave you is enjoyable. It centres around the seven days after the death of
Mort Altman, where the family sit Shiva, the traditional Jewish way of marking
the dead where the relatives of the deceased do not leave the house and receive
visitors for a week.
The interplay between the siblings is the strongest part of the story.
There are jealousies, fights, betrayals, secrets revealed, nostalgia, much of
which will be recognised by anyone from a family of more than one.
However, the movie constantly struggles against a tide of sentimentality
that threatens to overwhelm it. Conflicts are resolved a little too easily, the
film assumes everyone has only good intentions and people's flaws are mostly
just used as vehicles for comedy. The score, too, lays on the shmaltz,
signposting when you are supposed to be moved by a particular scene.
Yet for all that, the film just about manages to avoid over sugaring the
pill. The performances carry the story, Bateman is subtle and conflicted, Tina
Fey is funny and wry and genuine, Jane Fonda is just this side of bonkers, and
the movie retains a charm and an energy that is hard to resist.
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