The Kids Are All Right (2010, USA)

In limited U.S. release for about a month now, Lisa Cholodenko’s The Kids Are All Right is already being touted as a potential awards-season frontrunner. And in a year as bleak for U.S. films as 2010 has thus far proven to be, I wouldn’t really be surprised if this prediction turns out true, especially given some exceedingly solid turns from Annette Bening (who I didn’t know I missed until now - I don’t think I’ve seen her in anything new since American Beauty), Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, and Mia Wasikowska.

Cholodenko’s at her best here, too – though I liked both High Art and Laurel Canyon, Kids shows a more measured, balanced Cholodenko, though the narrative does take a pretty strong bias towards the adult storyline as the film progresses. High Art was buoyed by Ally Sheedy’s performance, without which it would have likely suffocated under the weight of its own self-importance, while Laurel Canyon was a bohemian soap opera, again mostly notable for a stellar turn from its female lead, this time Frances McDormand. And though Kids can at times be too indie-conventional in its structure, it feels airy and relaxed in comparison with the high drama of Cholodenko’s earlier films. The humor is a much stronger current - Kids is fucking hilarious in parts – and the theme that runs through all three films – how we create our own families, for better or worse – is better-developed. Whether or not it deserves all of the critical praise being heaped on it – that might be a question to pose me after another viewing. But it’s certainly one of the best domestic releases I’ve seen this year, and even though the options have been fairly dire, I would hope that no matter the year, Kids would find a deserving audience.