Family Portrait Review: The Dysfunctional Family Genre Gets A Lynchian Twist In Surreal Feature

Summary The art of surrealist filmmaking is one that has become a rare commodity in the modern cinematic landscape, with filmmakers like David Lynch having a more infrequent presence. With Family Portrait , however, debuting writer-director Lucy Kerr looks to revive this mysterious and ominous atmosphere through the similarly innocuous titular gathering.

With Family Portrait, Kerr offers a uniquely different approach to the genre by setting it in a surreal and unpredictable environment. The tension of conflicting ideals between family members is felt with everything from minor looks to lines of dialogue, though this simmering frustration never builds into an explosion of emotions, keeping us intrigued about whether it will ever happen, or if they will do as many families do in real life and simply keep quiet.

The actual direction itself, which is also a credit to cinematographer Lidia Nikonova, is an absolute feast of natural lighting and practical locations. While some may expect a movie boasting a surreal atmosphere to deliver otherworldly color palettes and unnerving imagery, Kerry and Nikonova keep things grounded, even amid the more time-bending moments and bizarre sequences, including a young boy hiding in a crevice of a large tree for no apparent reason.

Beyond Katy, Olek and the former's mom, many of the characters in the family feel largely underdeveloped, and as such feel inconsequential in the few events that unfold over the course of the movie. Brief mentions are seemingly made of prior sibling skirmishes, disagreements about their mother's mental state and Katy's potential pregnancy, but are as quickly forgotten as they are initially stated.

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