In Shawn Levy’s comedy-drama “This Is Where I Leave You,” four grown siblings are forced to return to their childhood home after their father passes away. For a week, they try to live under the same roof, amid an assortment of spouses, former lovers and their oversharing mother (Jane Fonda).
As the Altman siblings—played by Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Adam Driver and Corey Stoll—try to patch things up and confront frayed relationships with other people, they ultimately reconnect in hysterical and emotionally affecting ways.
Judd (Bateman) is a happily married and successfully employed radio producer who discovers his wife in bed with his loathsome boss.
Wendy (Fey), on the other hand, is Judd’s fiercely supportive but undeniably bossy big sister. Meanwhile, Stoll plays stolid big brother Paul and Adam Driver, the perpetual baby of the family, Phillip.
Jonathan Tropper wrote the film based on his novel of the same name.
Levy, who directed the movie, fell in love with the book after the first time he read it.
“It resonated with me in ways that were both comedic and deeply moving,” he said. “There was something in its blend of humanity, warmth and humor that rang true, and I knew it was a movie I wanted to make, a story I wanted to share.”
Known for his comedic movies, Levy struck a balance between drama and comedy in this film. But this time, the laughs spring from a more intimate place, as the film holds up a mirror to the kinds of emotional entanglements, conflicts and secrets, pitfalls, pratfalls and second chances in life that we can all relate to, as the ties that bind often tie us up in knots.
“It’s a grounded, honest story about human behavior and connections that I think is as comfortable being funny as it is being poignant,” he said.
Fonda said that audiences might see a bit of themselves or their loved ones in some of these characters.
“The ecology of any family is complex, and who’s to say what normal is?” asked Fonda. “Everyone has their own issues and there are all kinds of tensions, rivalries, jealousies and misunderstandings, which is just the nature of families. It’s easy to identify with and great material for storytelling.”
Tropper said that although book and film were two very different media, it wasn’t hard for him to take apart the book and find the movie inside of it.
“It’s the same message and the same story,” he said. “The hardest part was finding the balance between what people would find fun and entertaining and, at the same time, wanting them to be touched by its underlying themes.”
The film is now running in Philippine theaters.
