Concrete Playground

How does that saying go? 'The only functional family is one you haven’t met yet.' This certainly holds for Lisa Cholodenko's (High Art, Laurel Canyon) latest filmic family, made up of lesbian couple Nic (Annette Bening), Jules (Julianne Moore) and their two teenagers Joni (Mia Wasikowska) and Laser (Josh Hutcherson). After the kids track down their spunky sperm 'donor Dad' Paul (Mark Ruffalo), the family unit comically and poignantly destabilises as everyone makes room (some more willingly than others) for the new addition. Vino-swilling surgeon Nic is immediately threatened, while Jules finds a kindred spirit in the laid back, organic restaurant owner. The emotional stakes are raised even higher in the days prior to Joni leaving for college. Whichever way you slice it, this family is bound for change.

Cholodenko's third film is a near masterpiece; part sex-comedy, part radiant and wry portrait of contemporary relationships. Sure these are upper-middle class white folk, caught in a So-Cal bubble of wealth and sunshine, but that doesn't make Cholodenko's observations any less valid, or thought provoking. Spurred on by joyous, fierce, transcendent performances across the board, Cholodenko refuses to tie this family's story off with a neat little bow, which makes for not only an achingly truthful closing act, but one that leaves you pondering (or even vehemently debating) whether everyone in this film will indeed end up all right.