'What They Had' Closes Out the Fall KCET Cinema Series on October 9
Q&A immediately following with stars Taissa Farmiga, Robert Forster and director Elizabeth Chomko
Tolstoy famously mused, "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." From first-time writer/director Elizabeth Chomko, the plot of “What They Had” centers on a family in crisis. Bridget (Hilary Swank) returns home to Chicago at her brother’s (Michael Shannon) request to deal with her ailing mother, now suffering from Alzheimer’s disease (Blythe Danner) and her father’s (Robert Forster) reluctance to let go of their life together. The siblings are forced back together to make some difficult decisions about their parents’ future.
There’s nothing quite like your mom wandering into a blizzard that will wake you to the harsh realization that you must now parent your parents. As most siblings know, getting along can be challenging under the best of circumstances as no one can push your buttons like your family (most of the time they installed those very buttons!). On the other hand, no one knows or understands you like your family…and oftentimes the most dire of circumstances can forge an unbreakable bond for years to come. Elevated by an extraordinary cast of talented performers, Chomko balances her fairly heavy subject matter with some much-needed humor.
Swank shared the following on feeling vulnerable in her role, “I was playing a woman who was struggling with decisions that she made and decisions she didn’t make for herself and trusting her instinct and knowing her self-worth. All these things that I think encapsulate a person and especially a woman.”
“What They Had” premiered at Sundance and will be released in theaters on October 19 by Bleecker Street. A Q&A session will immediately follow the screening with stars Taissa Farmiga, Robert Forster and director Elizabeth Chomko as well as host and Deadline film critic Pete Hammond, who can also be seen in KCET’s Must See Movies. The fall season of the KCET Cinema Series is generously sponsored by Deadline.com. The season began on August 14 and runs through October 9. Season passes are available online via Eventbrite and individual admissions are available at the door for $30 each.