The Myth of Fingerprints

Warren (Wyle) hasn't been home to Maine in three years, partly because he still hasn't got over being dumped by the love of his life. When he does turn up for Thanksgiving, however, it's not Daphne who's the problem, but his dad Hal (Scheider), who welcomes Warren, his other children - persistently angry Mia (Moore), non-committal Jake (Vartan), easy-going Leigh (Holloman) - and their various partners with an indifference verging on outright hostility. Somehow, Warren's mum Lena (Danner) keeps a fragile peace, though Mia's tantrums and Hal's icy disapproval repeatedly threaten to turn the reunion into an emotional bloodbath. While writer/director Freundlich's serio-comic study of a dysfunctional family is hardly original, it is a remarkably mature, assured and perceptive first feature. A superior cast give their best in a faintly old-fashioned, carefully crafted, very enjoyable movie from a young talent to watch.