Family (1994)

Family (1994)

Dir. Michael Winterbottom | 4 episodes, approx 45 minutes each.

A miniseries set in Dublin, Ireland, written by author Roddy Doyle and directed by filmmaker Michael Winterbottom. I've read a couple of Roddy's novels and watched the films based on The Barrytown Trilogy. I enjoyed them all.

None of the films were big budget ventures, so I had no reason to suspect that a TV production would be any less engaging or personal.

Sure enough, it wasn't, the working class Spencer family were just as well-written and presented as Roddy's movie characters have been. In fact, it was an exceptional TV drama, the like of which the '90s had too little of, although it seems like there was still a lot more than we have now.

Four of the six Spencers have an episode named after them, within which they're the main focus even though, with the exception of the two youngest, all members play an important role each time. Interestingly, in each case the music used fits the age group, helping characterisation. Episodes in the order presented:

01. Charlo (Sean McGinley): the father. A typical day involves reaching for a cigarette before he's even opened his eyes in the morning, followed by afternoon petty theft, boozing, and being condescending to his wife and kids at mealtimes. It may sound like he's one-note, but there's more to Charlo than I've room to say and almost all of it selfish.

02. John Paul (Barry Ward): a thirteen-year-old son who worships his shit-bag father despite often witnessing the terrible things that he does. School is a chore, if he even goes. Loves football, drinking, and smoking. In short, a portrait of a troubled youth.

03. Nicola (Neilí Conroy): a daughter, the eldest of the four kids. She hates her father. She also has difficulty respecting her mother Paula because of the shit that she takes from Charlo.

04. Paula (Ger Ryan): the mother. Paula's situation is the most complex. She's guilty of many sins, the majority of which are actions not taken as opposed to ones that are, but she's a mother and she's the best hope that the family has of ever finding peace, if only she can can pull herself together in time and stay strong thereafter.

It's primarily a hard-hitting drama but makes room for comedy too, oftentimes triggered by brash actions and/or relatable embarrassment.

With regards the principal cast, I don't know enough of their work to judge if they can be as convincing across a wider spectrum, but they were all excellent here.

Wikipedia reports that Roddy subsequently adapted the miniseries into a novel titled The Woman who Walked into Doors (1996), which told the story from Paula's point of view, and that it has a sequel, simply called Paula Spencer (2006). I've not read either of them yet.

There's a saying in Ireland, and likely other places, too, that  'you can choose your friends, but you can't choose your family.' It's something that I was reminded of often while viewing Family.