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A Family Thing

1996, Movie, PG-13, 109 mins

FAMILY THING, A
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Genial Arkansas redneck Earl Pilcher (Robert Duvall) gets the shock of his life when he reads a letter left by his recently departed mother, which reveals that she wasn't his real mother, his father had a relationship with a black woman named Willa Mae, who died giving birth to Earl, and has a black half-brother he's never met, Raymond Murdock (James Earl Jones). Honoring his mother's last request, Earl drives to Chicago to meet Raymond; predictably enough, the reunion isn't an easy one for either man. Richard Pearce (THE LONG WALK HOME), who wears his conscience on his sleeve, directs with a heavy hand, and the premise has a strong Hallmark Hall of Fame vibe. But Billy Bob Thornton and Tom Epperson's screenplay is sharp and unsentimantal, and it features strong performances, not only by Jones and Duvall, but by the charismatic Irma P. Hall, who plays Raymond's blind, elderly Aunt T. leave a comment
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