Too many fans seem to be blown away

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

The acting in this movie is really good.

"Ignorance of how we are shaped racially is the first sign of privilege." - Tim Wise Directed by Richard Pearce, and written by Billy Bob Thornton, "A Family Thing" stars Robert Duvall as Earl Pilcher. A racist Irish-American Southerner, Earl learns that his biological mother was in fact a Black-American maid named Willa Mae. Willa Mae was raped by Earl's white father.When he learns that he has a black brother - played by the mighty James Earl Jones - Earl embarks upon a quest. He travels north, and spends several days in his brother's company. Along the way, Earl finds himself wrestling with issues of race, forgiveness, white privilege and acceptance. Though marred by some stereotyping, the film's marginally better than most mainstream films which attempts to delve into 20th century racism. Irma P. Hall is excellent as Earl's loving aunt.7.5/10 – Worth one viewing.

What a pleasant surprise this was. I caught this one day on Showtime and really didn't give it much of a chance. But I was so wrong!! Powerful performance by Irma P. Hall (as Aunt T.), and Robert Duvall is at his best as well. Wonderfully acted and written, this has to be the best movie I have seen in a long while. Sure, the same old southern stereotypes are portrayed as well as the same for the inner-city black culture, with many being quite accurate. Some parts were a little over the top, like the birthday party in the bar that Earl crashes as a total stranger. But that being said, not a lot of negatives I can say about this movie.

Robert Duvall's father dies and he finds out that he has a long-lost brother - a black man (played by James Earl Jones). He treks to the big city in order to find his brother (against his wishes, as he's a prejudiced Southener) and soon finds himself stuck under the company of Jones and his rambunctious family.This story isn't always as realistic as reality but it draws good allusions and parallels - I watched it very late one night expecting to fall asleep and, much to my surprise, I was completely entertained (and even touched) by the film's sweetness. It's an incredibly easy viewing - it touches on some deep racial issues but is never disturbing. It is a good family film with some strong morals and a rewarding finale that is a bit too simplistic, perhaps, but nevertheless uplifting and a nice reminder of many values many of us forget.A worthwhile, extremely underrated experience - highly recommended.4.5/5

I turned on the TV this morning and saw this movie listed in the viewing guide. I love Robert Duvall, so I decided to have a look, even though the info in the guide gave only 2½ stars (out of 5). Well, I think it's pretty sad that it got such a poor rating from ANYBODY! What a great movie. I was glad to see it got better reviews here.I found this movie to be well-written and well-acted. It moved me to tears several times. I live in Oklahoma, and am pretty well-acquainted with folks from neighboring Arkansas. I was really pleased at how well Robert Duvall portrayed the role. From the body language to the speech patterns to the attitude, he had the small-town Arkansas tractor dealer down pat.The interactions were quite accurate, becoming more and more touching as time went on. I highly recommend this film to anybody who wants to see a good treatment of the way racism is still alive and unwell in many parts of America.