The Kids Are All Right

The Kids Are All Right is a lovely, low-key film that captures the dynamics of a family in crisis with sincerity and warmth. Director Lisa Cholodenko and co-writer Stuart Blumberg have written a funny, involving script about Jules (Julianne Moore) and Nic (Annette Bening), whose marriage is thrown into turmoil when their teenaged children contact Paul (Mark Ruffalo), the formerly anonymous sperm donor who begat them. The three lead actors, all playing flawed but likeable people, do well by the script and by each other, as the characters' prickly personalities rub against one another. While Cholodenko's movie looks just fine, it's clear that for her, the camera is there to capture these nuanced performances. There are well-earned laughs and tears, and the straightforward way Cholodenko presents this essentially ordinary family is laudable. Yes, Jules and Nic are lesbians, and married, but their sexuality doesn't define them. If there's a political point, Cholodenko makes it precisely by making Jules and Nic so "normal." The most impressive thing about the film is the way Cholodenko refuses to wrap everything up as neatly as we might like. Mistakes are left uncorrected, and questions unanswered. The Kids Are All Right gets high marks for its emotional honesty.