A Review: The Myth of Fingerprints
Written by Steven Abrams | Posted by: Anonymous
Its got the classic Puritan motif the New England familys Thanksgiving. The now-grown children and their significant others come to spend the holiday once again in their parents home. It seems today all families fall under the "dysfunctional" category, and this family proves to be no different. Roy Scheiders dad is sufficiently stoic and deep. Noah Wyle with his ER-wide-eyed cuteness is cast perfectly as the youngest son. Julianne Moore, as the eldest and most screwed up sibling, takes her unique big screen persona and molds it into one of the films most honest performances. As expected, family ties shift and dark secrets unfold.
But what Freundlichs tight, clean film brings to the screen is a fresh perspective on how adults come together as a family. Scheiders character is quirky, bordering frightening, especially when he steps outside his fatherly role. His walls are so high that its hard to be sympathetic to what eventually proves to be a sadness. Although the children find that they dont fit inside their roles either, they still seem to fall back on old habits. Wyle and Moore bicker rather than communicate. Laurel Hollomans optimistically played youngest child sits on the fringe of the action, watching, and is refreshing in the few moments she gets film time since her characters oddities havent fallen into the darkness of her family yet. The brothers girlfriends seem to be cut from Hollomans mold: cute and nonthreatening, and still new enough to not be brought down too far into the problems this family faces. Moores character is not as lucky; within her family, she is lost, unable to function in any role, and pushes everyone away from her.
The Myth of Fingerprints doesnt try to explain everything, and it doesnt shout out pivotal moments. The family problems dont lead to a pat ending where everythings resolved. Instead, youre left with a sense of continuance, and questions unanswered. Freundlich introduces you to this New England family and lets you come up with the answers on your own.