Search - We Were the Mulvaneys on DVD

A happy family is torn apart after an act of violence. Sad.

Linda Linguvic | New York City | 04/24/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This 2002 TV movie is based on a Joyce Carol Oates novel that won some accolades a few years ago. I usually like Joyce Carol Oates and tried to read the book. But I was bored and just couldn't get into it. I always did wonder, however, how the story turned out. And so I was glad to see it was on DVD. Starring Blythe Danner as the mother and Beau Bridges as the father, we first meet the Mulvaneys as a happy family with four teenage children. It's storybook happiness, the kind that doesn't happen in real life and now I know why I was bored with the book. And then, when something bad happens, it tears the family apart. In a matter of weeks, all the happiness goes down the drain and each family member suffers in his or her own way. The audience suffers too as this part goes on and on and on with one misfortune leading to another until several years pass and the father is dying. By now, everyone is miserable. But this seems to lead the family to reconciliation and a new beginning. The film is pure soap opera and rather depressing. However, it moved quickly and I got involved in the story, wanting to see how it would all turn out. Later, I wondered what it was that held my interest and I think it was the way it was paced and the excellent acting although it doesn't even make the playing field of good film drama."