Category Archives: Family Conflict

2020, Acceptable for teenagers, Alcoholism, Amazon Prime, America of the 1970s, Coming-of-age, Could Be Sad, Drama, Emotional child abuse, Family Conflict, Father-son relations, Gay theme, Good Acting, Homophobia, Mother-son relations, Small Town Atmosphere, Thought provoking

Uncle Frank (2020)

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From IMDB:

In 1973, when Frank Bledsoe and his 18-year-old niece Beth take a road trip from Manhattan to Creekville, South Carolina, for the family patriarch’s funeral, they’re unexpectedly joined by Frank’s lover, Walid.

From Amazon Prime you can stream this 1 hour 34 minute Amazon produced film.

In the American South of 1973 being gay was difficult, to say the least. Frank Bledsoe, a gay man,  has long ago left his southern family in small town Creekville and moved to Manhattan where he could live his life as he wanted. His lover Walid can never return to his native country Saudi Arabia (or risk being beheaded.)

Start by assuming that everyone in Creekville is homophobic.  One of the worst offenders is Frank’s father, Daddy Mac,  whose explicit denunciations helped drive Frank away from home.  When Daddy Mac dies suddenly Frank has some touch decisions: Should he go to the funeral?   Should he out himself?  Should he take Walid?

Frank’s trip back home is interwoven with tragic childhood flashbacks and enlightening discussions with his niece Beth. In addition the stressful situation prompts Frank to return to his former alcohol problem.

Needless to say Frank’s treatment during the funeral is traumatic and cruel. In a very natural way the relatives express their culturally ingrained homophobia, the usual refrain being “You will burn in hell!”

Beautifully acted, thought provoking, and tough to watch.

2004, Abuse of Women, Acceptable for teenagers, Amazon Prime, Athletes, Bisexual theme, Bullying, Divorce, Drama, Failing Marriage, Family Conflict, Father-son relations, Feel Good Not For Children, Friendship, Gay theme, High school students, Husband leaves wife, Marital Infidelity, Mother-son relations, Optimistic, Sensitive treatement of emotions, Small gem of a film, Spousal Abuse, Wife Beating

Jack (2004)

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From IMDB:

Jack (Anton Yelchin) is busy with adolescence when he realizes his parents are divorcing and even worse, his dad is gay. After some bittersweet experiences, Jack learns no family is perfect, but his own is more caring, supportive, and stronger than he knew.

From Amazon Prime:

Fifteen-year-old Jack finds his life turned upside down when his parents divorce and he discovers that his father is gay. When his friend Max reveals his own family troubles, Jack learns to appreciate all that he has – however unconventional and troubling it may be.

From Amazon Prime you can stream this 1 hour 43 minute family drama.

Dad Paul is played by Ron Silver. Mom Anne is played by Stockard Channing.  Jack is played by Anton Yelchin. Max is played by Giacomo Baessato.

Jack is 15 going on 16.  He is a typical kid who is on the varsity high school basketball team.  He and his best buddy Max gaze  shyly and longingly at their female school mates.  At fate would have it, it was only when Jack’s world seems to collapse that he able to befriend Maggie whose own father also turns out to be gay.  When Jack learns that Max’s father physically abuses Max’s mother,  he begins to appreciate his own family.

Despite the theme, this is a feel-good film in which Yelchin’s portrayal of Jack is pitch perfect and endearing.  This film is one of those rare gems that I somehow stumbled on.

 

2020, Acceptable for teenagers, Attempted Murder, British, Drama, Dysfunctional Lives, Extramarital Affair, Failing Marriage, Family Conflict, Husband leaves wife, Jealousy, Male Prostitute for Women, Marital Infidelity, Melodrama, Mother-daughter relations, Mother-son relations, Murder Investigation, PBS Masterpiece Streaming, Sex Scenes, Tragedy, Unhappy Marriage

Flesh and Blood (2020)

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From IMDB:

Lives of three siblings are disrupted when their recently widowed mother declares she’s in love with a new man. Tangled web of secrets, lies, rivalries and betrayals eventually leads to a murder.

From the PBS streaming channel you can stream the 4 episodes of this British Masterpiece Theater soap opera. Each episode lasts about 45 minutes.

Masterpiece Theater on PBS TV just finished doling out an episode per week of this drama. Now that it is over, you can stream all 4 episodes from PBS streaming. By contributing some money to PBS you can get a membership to the streaming source.

From Acorn through Amazon Prime you can also stream Gold Digger which is similar to “Flesh and Blood” in that both dramas are about an older widow falling in love with a new man despite the objections of her grown children. In the former story the new man is much younger. In the latter the new man Mark (played by Stephen Rea who was Alexander Pope in  Counterpart) is closer in age to the widow Vivien (played by Francesca Annis).

Add to the objections from Vivien’s grown children the passive aggressive behavior of Vivien’s longtime neighbor Mary.  Many of the actors have impressive resumés, but Imelda Staunton, who plays the nosy neighbor Mary, is a British classic. Her performance as Vera in  Vera Drake was memorable.  And of course we have seen Sharon Small (who plays Stella) just about everywhere, for example as Dr. Laura Maitland in Murderland.

Unquestionably a tragedy,  each of the characters is in an awful position and no one lives happily ever after.

Until the final fourth episode we never know who is in serious condition in the hospital.  Just to keep guessing is worth the trip.

 

2020, Abandoned child, Addiction, Alcoholism, Amazon Prime, Boating, Corny at times, Detective, DNA, Drug Dealers, Dysfunctional Lives, Embezzlement, Ethical struggles, Extramarital Affair, False Imprisonment, Family Conflict, Father-son relations, Financial malfeasance, Illegitimate Child, Murder, Murder Investigation, New Zealand, Police cover-up, Police Culture, Redemption

The Sounds (2020)

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From IMDB;

Maggie and Tom Cabbott move to the town of Pelorus to escape the oppressive influence of Tom’s family. But when he disappears, unsettling facts about Tom soon come to light and the search brings long-buried wounds to the surface.

From Amazon Prime:

This twisty thriller follows a married couple trying to start a new life in an idyllic New Zealand town, but when the husband goes missing, dark secrets begin to surface.

From Amazon Prime you can stream the 8 episodes of the only season.  Each episode lasts exactly 44 minutes.

“Acceptable soap opera”  seems like a fair assessment of this series. Murder, false imprisonment, drug dealing, alcoholism, indigenous people, embezzlement, unwanted baby, and several betrayals make for a watchable series.

Rachelle Lefevre as Maggie Cabbott commands the show.  No sooner had I finished watching the series and then took a peek at Electric Dreams, much  to my surprise there was Rachelle Lefevre playing Katie in the TV series adaptation of Phillip Dick’s novel.

Of all the many characters in the cast, Emily Piggford as the accountant for the ruthless Cabbott enterprises was certainly the most striking or should I say oddest personality.   In this B+ series she can get away with such an extreme portrayal of a dedicated but emotionless woman.

Mostly about sin and redemption, it was worth waiting for the next Tuesday installment. At least you won’t have to wait now that all the episodes have been released.

2017, Abduction, Based on true facts, Cold Cases, Failing Marriage, Family Conflict, Father-son relations, FBI, Forensics, Lesbian Theme, Netflix Streaming, NOT violent, Race Relations, Racism, Serial Killer

Mindhunter (2017)

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From IMDB:

Set in the late 1970s, two FBI agents are tasked with interviewing serial killers to solve open cases.

From Netflix you can stream 2 seasons of this drama which centers around criminal profiling and its use in catching serial killers. Season 1 has 10 episodes and season 2 has 9 episodes. Episode length varies from 45 minutes to a bit over an hour.  Material in the series is based on real life events.

In the 1970s the idea of criminal profiling was new. In fact at first the FBI was sceptical about its usefulness. Why spend money sending FBI agents to interview murderers with the goal of solving future crimes?  During this period the agents involved invented the phrase “serial killer”.

Season 1 depicts the development of these ideas as they bump up against the bureaucracy. Certainly interviews with known serial killers, for example Charlie Manson,  are interesting.

Season 2 is mostly devoted to a true case of serial killing in Atlanta. In the time frame of season 2 the FBI work in this area has become accepted enough that the local police in Atlanta reluctantly allowed the FBI to help solve the case.

Along side the crime plot runs the personal problems of some of the agents on the team:

  • Bill Tench (played by Holt McCallany – Robert McCoy in Blue Bloods ) has a young son who was involved in the murder of a young child. Tench is always away in some other city for his work. As a result his marriage is in trouble.
  • Dr. Wendy Carr (played by Anna Torv – Olivia Dunham in Fringe) is a Lesbian looking for love and not having much success.

If you enjoy detailed police procedurals (and are a fairly patient viewer) then you might well be caught up in the plot.

2020, Abandoned child, Acceptable for teenagers, Addiction, Alcoholism, Amazon Prime Brit Box, British Mystery Series, Clever Assistant, Eccentric Detective, Family Conflict, Father-daughter relations, Father-son relations, Gay Prostitution, Illegitimate Child, Murder, Murder Investigation, Older Detective, Police Culture, Unloved Child

McDonald & Dodds (2020)

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From IMDB:

A shy and enigmatic Detective Sergeant is partnered with a wildly ambitious Detective Chief Inspector to solve crimes in the historic city of Bath.

From Amazon Prime britbox:

The ambitious DCI McDonald has swapped the mean streets of London to climb the career ladder in picturesque Bath. Tough, driven cop McDonald cracks cases through sheer force of will. When the two are partnered up, the unlikely pair instantly lock horns over their different approaches to policing – and to life. New episode arrives every Tuesday.

From Amazon Prime britbox you can stream the only two episodes available of this British detective story which takes place in Bath, England. Each episode lasts about an hour and a half.

DCI McDonald, played by Tala Gouveia, is young, tough, and at first glance dismisses DS Dodds, played by Jason Watkins, as a doddering old has-been who is ready for retirement.

Jason Watkins is a consummate actor with a long resumé. Perhaps you remember him as Prime Minister Harold Wilson in the TV series The Crown.  In these two detective episodes Watkins plays to perfection a shy, almost stuttering, annoyingly hesitant, absent-minded (as in “where are my glasses” when they are already perched on his head) older detective who, as it turns out, is a brilliant detective and the brains of the police department. Eventually McDonald and Dodds become good friends.

Chief Superintendent John Houseman is played by James Murray. His is a face you may have often seen but probably cannot remember where. James Murray also has a very long resumé. In this show CS Houseman is the mean boss who dislikes both McDonald and Dodds, sneers at their efforts, and never ever gives poor old Dodds any credit for his cleverness.

Finding this series was just plain dumb luck.

2018, Abandoned child, Abduction, Abortion, Adultery, Algerian-French relations, Binge worthy, Blackmail, Bloody scenes, Brother-Sister relations, Career Competition, Conspiracy, Controlling personality, Corny at times, Corruption, Detective, DO NOT MISS, Drama, Ethical struggles, Extramarital Affair, Failing Marriage, Family Conflict, Father-daughter relations, Father-son relations, Frame someone for a crime, French, French Culture, French Detective Series, Illegitimate Child, Jealousy, Journalist, Lesbian Theme, Made For TV, Male Chauvinism, Marital Infidelity, MHz Choice, Mother-daughter relations, Mother-son relations, Murder, Murder Investigation, Occasionaly violent, Orphanage, Paris in the 1960s, Police Corruption, Police Politics, Political Intrigue, Romance, Suspense, Torture, TV Culture, Unhappy Marriage, Womanizing, Women's Equality

Speakerine (2018)

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From MHz Choice:

In 1960s Paris, TV announcer Christine Beauval crashes the glass ceiling and brings criminals to justice in a drama that’s part ‘Mad Men,’ part Agatha Christie.

From MHz Choice you can stream the 6 episodes of this French TV dramatic series.  Each episode lasts roughly 50 minutes.

Looking for a binge-worthy TV series with all the right elements: corruption, male chauvinism, OAS terrorists associated with the Algerian drive for independence, powerful Frenchmen taking sexual advantage of women ?   Look no further because this French TV soap opera has it all. Consider the cast of characters:

  • Christine Beauval must prevail against French male chauvinism in her fight to be accepted as a woman TV personality.
  • Pierre Beauval, her husband and boss, is a TV careerist executive opposing her all the way, as in “the women belong in the home and kitchen.”
  • Colette Beauval, her daughter, is being taken advantage of by Eric Jauffret, another bureaucratic wannabe.
  • Jean-Claude Beauval, her son, who becomes involved with the OAS terrorist group who tried to assassinate General Charles de  Gaulle.
  • Isabelle Auclair, a young woman using her charms to induce men to help her replace Christine.
  • And many. many corrupt politicians and executives loosely connected through sometimes fatal sex parties. (Are you interested now?)

Among these French actors, the only one I recognized was Grégory Fitoussi who plays Eric Jauffret.   He played a lead in Spiral, another French TV series.  If you haven’t already seen Spiral, run do not walk to Netflix.  You can find my review  in this web site.

Granted that “Speakerine” is an unabashed soap opera which at the very end is a bit over the top, but

DO NOT MISS!

 

2016, Abuse of Women, Action sequences, Adopted child, Binge worthy, Bloody scenes, Cancer theme, Cold Cases, Crime thriller, Dark, Disturbing Image, Dysfunctional Lives, Eccentric Detective, Family Conflict, Father-daughter relations, Finnish, Forensics, Grim, KGB, Mixed Martial Arts, Mother-daughter relations, Murder, Netflix Streaming, Nudity, Occasional gore, Police Investigation, Religious Theme, Serial Killer, Sex Scenes, Suspense, Unbelievably smart detective, Violent

Bordertown (2016)

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From IMDB:

Quirky police detective, in Finland, delves into his mind palace to solve despicable crimes all the while trying to keep his family together. If Sherlock was based in Finland this would be it.

From Netflix you can stream 3 seasons of this Finnish crime series. Season 1 consists of 11 episodes while seasons 2 and 3 consist of 10 episodes. Each episode lasts about an hour. Most often one complete story requires 2 or 3 episodes.

You can always get English subtitles. In seasons 1 an 2 you can get an English sound track which to my ears always sounded somewhat unnatural as if the dubbing was too formal. Oddly enough there is no English sound track for season 3, only Finnish, Spanish, and Italian.

Kari Sorjonen is quite possibly the most eccentric detective I have seen.  His odd mannerisms of touching his face and head with outstretched fingers might just get on your nerves. Supposedly when he does this he has ingenious flashes of insight.

Never mind the idiosyncrasies, the stories are as grim as they are good.  His supporting detectives and family members fill out the cast well.  Indeed a constant theme is his somewhat clueless neglect of his family because, as is the case in so many detective series, that phone is always ringing.

Worth a watch.

 

2015, Acorn TV, Binge worthy, Blackmail, Bloody scenes, Boating, British Mystery Series, Divorce, DO NOT MISS, Extramarital Affair, Failing Marriage, Family Conflict, Forensics, Frame someone for a crime, Gangs, Mother-daughter relations, Mother-son relations, Murder, Murder Investigation, Personal Betrayal, Police Corruption, Police cover-up, Police Culture, Police Investigation, Sex Scenes, Suspense, Undercover police work, Weapons Dealer, Yorkshire Accents

Black Work (2015)

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From Acorn TV:

This powerful crime thriller written by Matt Charman (Bridge of Spies) dives into the murky depths of undercover police work and tells the story of a woman willing to risk everything to protect her family. Sheridan Smith (Jonathan Creek, Accused) delivers a powerhouse performance as Jo Gillespie, a police constable who embarks on a dangerous investigation of her husband’s death.

From Acorn TV you can stream the 3 episodes of this series. Each episode lasts about 45 minutes.

Because this engrossing procedural, which takes place in Leeds, involves so many facets, for a while I could not imagine the story ending in a mere 3 episodes. Have no fear, the conclusion is quite satisfying.

You can hear various accents include the Scottish accent of Douglas Henshall and the Yorkshire accent of others, especially the character Zoe Nash.

Familiar faces abound:

  •     Matthew McNulty, who plays Jack, was Steve Campbell in the wonderful Deadwater Fell,  which is also found on Acorn TV.
  •    Geraldine James, who plays CC Carolyn Jarecki,  was 65 years old in the filming. Her resumé is enormous.
  •   Douglas Henshall, who plays DCS Hepburn,  was DI Jimmy Pere in Shetland.  He appears in many familiar series.
  •   Was there ever a more familiar veteran than Phil Davis ( who plays Tom Piper) ? He has played in everything (slight exaggeration but just take a glance at his IMDB entry).

For most of the 3 episodes I spent much time trying to figure out who is corrupt. There are a lot of name to remember, but names are used a lot. And some of those names are bad guys, so stay alert.

So well done that I feel obliged to say DO NOT MISS!

2011, Abduction, Abuse of Women, Acceptable for teenagers, Accidental Death, Action sequences, Adopted child, Arson, Attempted Suicide, Cancer theme, Child abuse, Child Molestation, Corrupt lawyers, Detective, DIY Ending, DO NOT MISS, Dysfunctional Lives, Ends in Cliff Hanger, Ethical struggles, Failing Marriage, Family Conflict, Father-daughter relations, Gritty, Illegitimate Child, Irish, Irish Gaelic, Journalist, Lawyers, MHz Choice, Mother-daughter relations, Murder, Pedophilia, Police Corruption, Rape, Serial Killer, Suspense, TV Reporter, Unmarried mother, Upsetting ending, Violent

Corp + Anam (2011)

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From MHz Choice:

Gritty Irish-language drama chronicling the difficult professional and intense personal life of Cathal Mac Iarnáin, a tenacious TV crime reporter who is obsessed with pursuing the story behind the story. But as single-minded as he is about uncovering the truth, he is often too busy chasing stories to notice that the world of crime hits closer to home every day.

From MHz Choice you can stream two seasons of this intense Irish drama. Each season consists of 4 episodes. Each episode lasts about 50 minutes.  Irish Gaelic with English subtitles.

“Gut-punching” is the most apt adjective I can apply to these eight episodes.  “Corp & Anam” is Gaelic for “Body and Soul”.

One critic labeled the reporter Cathal as unscrupulous.  Each of the 8 stories centers around some serious injustice.  No matter who gets hurt Cathal is determined to get the scoop first.  On certain occasions he is not above breaking the law to get the story.  In every case he goes out on a sometimes self-destructive limb to broadcast the story on Irish television.  Most often it is his own family which gets hurt because, as with many police detectives, his cell phone often interrupts his family life.

For this series I have created a new category “DIY Ending” which I could have used earlier for many other series.  “Do It Yourself Ending” applies to an ending in which most of the groundwork has been laid to reach a satisfying conclusion in which justice reigns and the bad guys get their punishment but in which you do not get the satisfaction of seeing those final details played out. This category especially applies to the last story of season 2 which uses two episodes 3 and 4 to tell the whole story.  This particular story leaves Cathal in danger of losing his career.

DO NOT MISS!