Featured Audience Ratings

• Jim H

  
  A man with a troubled professional life and an idyllic personal life is forced to re-evaluate his life. An hour into this film, there's an event which defines all that came before and comes after. But since the Flixster synopsis doesn't give it away (even though the Netflix… More
  A man with a troubled professional life and an idyllic personal life is forced to re-evaluate his life. An hour into this film, there's an event which defines all that came before and comes after. But since the Flixster synopsis doesn't give it away (even though the Netflix synopsis does), I won't reveal it here. What I can say is that the film is thoroughly uninteresting for the first hour, but afterward it finds its focus and comes to a fairly satisfactory resolution. The film seems to be saying that any attempts we make in order to find meaning and existential security in our professional lives are not as satisfying as what we ignore in our personal lives. Overall, <i>Father of My Children</i> is poorly constructed and not well paced (the event an hour into it should have begun the film), but I ended up respecting it even if I couldn't like it.

• Cynthia S

  
  One of those films that critics love, I guess. For me....ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

• Gordon A

  
  Expertly crafted French drama with naturalistic child performances which is let down by the central conceit not being believably built up.

• Mark A

  
  An excellent treatment of a difficult subject that was all the more personal for this viewer because of the recent suicide of someone he thought he knew fairly well. Gregoire Canvel (Louis-Do de Lencquesaing) is a somewhat successful movie producer who has made some questionable… More
  An excellent treatment of a difficult subject that was all the more personal for this viewer because of the recent suicide of someone he thought he knew fairly well. Gregoire Canvel (Louis-Do de Lencquesaing) is a somewhat successful movie producer who has made some questionable decisions that have left his empire vulnerable. The first half of the film sets up the situation so that the audience understands why he would find himself in such a dark place, but he keeps all of this somewhat hidden from his wife, Sylvia (Chiara Caselli) and his children. The last half of the film shows those affected by this ultimately selfish act dealing with the fallout. Of particular note was the performance by Alice de Lencquesang as his eldest daughter, Clemence. She managed to make the audience feel her pain without resorting to melodrama. One gets the feeling that she suppressed her rage and despair in order to appear brave for her mother and her sisters, yet her pain was evident in the smallest of gestures. All of the actors were marvelous in this and quite believable. The scenes in Paris evoked life in a vibrant city, while those at the various shooting locations of the films Gregoire was producing helped the audience feel his world shutting down on him. The action is slow, but purposely so. This is not a subject that lends itself to rapid-fire jump cuts and action sequences. Only by allowing the story to emerge as it did here can we find anywhere to attach the strong emotions this created. This was a sad story, but it never wallowed in the sadness. One gets the sense that life goes on for those who remain, as it must.

• Walter M

  
  In "Father of My Children," Sylvie(Chiara Caselli) patiently waits for her husband Gregoire(Louis-Do de Lencquesaing), a film producer, to come to their country home where she is at with their three daughters. She may have to wait a while due to all the meetings and phone… More
  In "Father of My Children," Sylvie(Chiara Caselli) patiently waits for her husband Gregoire(Louis-Do de Lencquesaing), a film producer, to come to their country home where she is at with their three daughters. She may have to wait a while due to all the meetings and phone calls he has to take. However, it is not talking on a cell phone while driving that gets him pulled over by the police. It is speeding and not wearing a seat belt. Admittedly, he is going to have to move quickly if he wants to save his production company, Moon Films, which has a lot in stake on the production of a Swedish film, "Saturn." For its first half, "Father of My Children" is a compelling portrait of self-destruction, as Gregoire finds himself falling deeper and and deeper into a hole. At the same time, it may be the only sympathetic portrayal of a film producer on record. Usually, they are depicted in a range from philistine pains to Satan("Contempt.") But in the second half, the movie unsuccessfully tries to bring closure, adding an unnecessary subplot to the brew. Personally, I would have gone darker but that's why I'm not a film producer. I lack commercial instincts and would probably only try to fund three hour Hungarian epics. And from what I can see of clips from Gregoire's films, his instincts might be similar which is what got him into the mess in the first place.

• Daniel P

  
  A beautiful film concerning a father's denial and then desperation as his production company gets deeper and deeper into the red, and the gradual and eventually all encompassing effect this has on his family. An abrupt and shocking but nonetheless truthful turn of events half-way… More
  A beautiful film concerning a father's denial and then desperation as his production company gets deeper and deeper into the red, and the gradual and eventually all encompassing effect this has on his family. An abrupt and shocking but nonetheless truthful turn of events half-way through shifts all the dynamics but Mia Hansen-Løve's humanistic script and plotting and deceptively simple direction is never disruptive. Strong, naturalistic performances across the board (especially from the three children). A perceptive, moving and deeply profound piece of French cinema.

Read all 6 featured audience ratings