Family Viewing

Family Viewing, directed by Atom Egoyan in 1987, is a playful yet thought-provoking film starring David Hemblen, Aidan Tierney, Gabrielle Rose and Arsinee Khanjian. This English language movie was produced in Canada and is a multifaceted tale that skillfully intertwines themes of identity, family dynamics and technology's impact on human relationships.

Family Viewing revolves around Van (Aidan Tierney), a young man negotiating his way through a dysfunctional family's convoluted terrain. The film intricately weaves an engaging story of this character's struggle to ensure his ailing grandfather's mental and physical wellbeing while also trying to manage the bizarre dynamics of a household teetering on the brink of emotional disintegration. The movie also involves an exploration of a love affair that transgresses societal norms, and in doing so, it peels back the layers of human relationships and emotions, daring to explore themes that are often neglected in mainstream cinema.

David Hemblen delivers a riveting performance as Stan, Van's father, whose relationship with technology and its use in distorting reality create a powerful narrative device. Stan records over old family VHS tapes with homemade erotic content involving his new girlfriend Sandra, played by Gabrielle Rose. Sandra's son also becomes an object of affection for Van, adding an additional layer of complexity to an already tangled web of familial and extra-familial relationships.

Egoyan injects a significant dose of the surreal into his movie. On the surface, Family Viewing is a domestic drama. Still, under it lays a complex examination of how the ubiquity of televisual media can erode human relationships and personal identity. This motif of technology as an obstacle to genuine human connection is emphasized through the frequent usage of video screens as a storytelling tool throughout the film. Egoyan presents the uncouth reality of individuals becoming too reliant on and defined by the media, even to the extent of preferring it over real, tangible human interactions.

In addition to it being a remarkable drama, Family Viewing offers a powerful commentary on the desensitization that is often bred by the constant exposure to media-generated realities. The story explores how the inundation of televisual media and its artificial narratives warp our understanding of relationships, making us detached and desensitized. The unnerving liaison between Stan and Sandra, characterized by its artificiality, is an example of this theme.

Further into the story, Van meets Aline (played by Arsinee Khanjian), an operator for a telephone dating service. This subplot provides an interesting parallel to the themes under exploration. Like Van, Aline’s life is deeply intertwined with technology, but unlike him, she uses it to foster, not hinder, human connection. Through Aline, the film offers a nuanced assessment of technology’s role in society – neither demonizing it nor empirically endorsing its unrestricted use.

Egoyan’s Family Viewing is a rich, tragicomic exploration of the human condition in an increasingly media-dominated world. With its innovative narrative approach and ambivalent attitude towards technology, the film invites viewers to reflect on their own relationships with media and technology. Although it was made just as we were standing on the cusp of the modern digital age, its themes and messages remain relevant today. Featuring top-tier performances by Hemblen, Tierney and Rose, and imbued with Egoyan’s distinct filmmaking style, Family Viewing is an essential movie experience.