"Pieces of April" is a neat little way of exploring the hypothesis in my summary. It does this very effectively in both the opening and closing; first nicely establishing the community that April has to rely on when her estranged family are due to re-enter her life abruptly; and then in an accomplished sidestep that makes the imagined awkwardness more dissolute, come the end. By having the family turn up individually, they are almost WELCOMED as strangers, and therefore possess less of the proprietary influence that relatives can so often exert. It's a clever little tautology that superbly bookends an intimate 'slice of life' piece, because it shows us how family is as much an idea as it is a construct.
Unfortunately, given the refreshing examination of such themes; the midway appearance of Sean Hayes into this movie marked the start of a downward spiral that, for my money, the film never fully recovers from. I find him amusing enough on "Will & Grace"; but here, his traits were made awkwardly and deliberately extreme, to try and make some of the others appear normal, in comparison! As such, he became less of a character, and more of a quirky sideshow; destroying much of the intimacy that the setup had earlier taken advantage of, to maximum effect...
I was reminded just what a delicate presupposition film often relies on; when one misjudgement in the midsection overbalances the solid groundwork made in a situation and its resolution. Is the audience just expected to overlook that? Sorry, but I couldn't...
Unfortunately, given the refreshing examination of such themes; the midway appearance of Sean Hayes into this movie marked the start of a downward spiral that, for my money, the film never fully recovers from. I find him amusing enough on "Will & Grace"; but here, his traits were made awkwardly and deliberately extreme, to try and make some of the others appear normal, in comparison! As such, he became less of a character, and more of a quirky sideshow; destroying much of the intimacy that the setup had earlier taken advantage of, to maximum effect...
I was reminded just what a delicate presupposition film often relies on; when one misjudgement in the midsection overbalances the solid groundwork made in a situation and its resolution. Is the audience just expected to overlook that? Sorry, but I couldn't...