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A Family Thing

Play trailer Poster for A Family Thing PG-13 Released Mar 29, 1996 1h 49m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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73% Tomatometer 22 Reviews 72% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
Following the death of the white woman he thought was his mother, a shocked Earl Pilcher Jr. (Robert Duvall) learns he is half black. Shaken to the core by this revelation of decades of lies, an impassioned Pilcher travels to Chicago to find his biological family and meets Roy Murdock (James Earl Jones), his half-brother. Unfortunately, Murdock refuses to accept the aging Southerner. Desperate for a connection, the grieving Pilcher struggles to convince Murdock to open his mind.
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A Family Thing

Critics Reviews

View All (22) Critics Reviews
Peter Stack San Francisco Chronicle Rated: 3/4 Jun 18, 2002 Full Review Alison Macor Austin Chronicle Rated: 3.5/5 Jan 1, 2000 Full Review Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times As it is, it's a superior entertainment, warm-hearted and touching, and with some nice shadings in the performances. Rated: 3/4 Jan 1, 2000 Full Review Lori Hoffman Atlantic City Weekly Underrated family drama; Duvall and Jones are terrific Rated: 4/5 Aug 17, 2006 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: 3/5 Jul 7, 2005 Full Review Linda Cook Quad City Times (Davenport, IA) Rated: 3/5 May 8, 2005 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (66) audience reviews
Steve D Sadly not as deep as it should be. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/15/23 Full Review Audience Member Absolutely love this movie, Watched by chance with my mother as she recorded it in the old VHS days. I was hooked from start to finish, Great writing, an amazing cast, and acting, So many emotions in this film, Irma P Hall was amazing. I have shown friends who thought they wouldn't have liked it but loved it too, No had a friend who disliked it. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/26/23 Full Review Audience Member Light hearted drama with humor and geniality. The premise makes the plot predictable but the storyline and the acting are strong enough to carry the movie. It would make for a great school play! Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/15/23 Full Review jon c Director Richard Pierce presents a story about family no matter how black and white things may seem. Everything is relative so to speak. Robert Duvall and James Earl Jones co-star. Earl is a white southerner. He's just learned his mother who died wasn't actually his mother. His real birth mother actually had another child he didn't know about. Earl sets off to find out who his half brother is...his biggest surprise is that he's half African American. He's so shaken to the core being that his whole life was full of lies. When traveling to Chicago he meets Roy, a police officer who also shares his shock to the news. Roy of course refuses to let the idea sink in. Over the course of time though Earl is desperate to connect to the rest of his family. The truth is we never really know what it's like for someone else, you're treated one way when you're white you're treated another when you're black, it's hard to learn about your roots when you've been brought up a certain way, you can save another person if you want to be saved Duvall and Jones bounce off one another so wonderfully. Family is family and skin color shouldn't limit the bonds. Really nice shadings in the performances with Pierce showing that all family members can make it work. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member With heartwarming moments and a more optimistic approach to racial differences, these classy actors give perfect dramady performances in what is a potentially relatable film. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/15/23 Full Review Audience Member This is yet another movie that gets better over time. 22 years after its release it is still important and poignant. Beautifully acted. Some funny relief, but clearly consistent with 2018. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/14/23 Full Review Read all reviews
A Family Thing

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis Following the death of the white woman he thought was his mother, a shocked Earl Pilcher Jr. (Robert Duvall) learns he is half black. Shaken to the core by this revelation of decades of lies, an impassioned Pilcher travels to Chicago to find his biological family and meets Roy Murdock (James Earl Jones), his half-brother. Unfortunately, Murdock refuses to accept the aging Southerner. Desperate for a connection, the grieving Pilcher struggles to convince Murdock to open his mind.
Director
Richard Pearce
Producer
Robert Duvall, Todd Black, Randa Haines
Screenwriter
Billy Bob Thornton, Tom Epperson
Production Co
United Artists
Rating
PG-13
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 29, 1996, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 30, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$10.1M
Runtime
1h 49m
Sound Mix
Surround, Stereo
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