If there is one thing that annoys me about mafia films, it is any association with Catholicism.  Granted, it makes some cultural, if stereotypical, sense.  We typically connect organized crime with people of Italian extraction, who are predominantly Catholic.  I suppose my annoyance can be blamed to a certain degree on my desire to see people genuinely practice the Faith.  What I often forget is that not everyone, including my co-religionists, are not as fervent in their practices as I am.  Still, there is one scene in The Family (2013), today’s entry, that is particularly bothersome that I will highlight later.  In the meantime, know that this movie about the title group has its moments, but is generally not satisfying.

The Family (2013) is not referring to the sort of group that immediately springs to mind when this Catholic hears the word.  Instead, we are dealing with the mafia, specifically Giovanni Manzoni (Robert De Niro), a former mob boss whose decision to inform on Don Luchese (Stan Carp) has landed the latter in prison and put a $20 million price on Giovanni’s head.  To keep him alive, Federal Bureau of Investiagations (FBI) Agent Robert Stansfield (Tommy Lee Jones) has placed Giovanni, wife Maggie (Michelle Pfeiffer), daughter Belle (Dianna Agron), and son Warren (John D’Leo) in the witness protection program.  They have already gone through several identities and locations because none of them are particularly good at keeping a low profile.  Their latest relocation takes them to Cholong-sur-Avre, France, where they become the Blake family and Giovanni goes by Fred.  Agent Stansfield warns them to behave themselves, which is asking a lot from these four.  Maggie gets things started when she overhears a grocery store proprietor making insulting comments about Americans.  Rather than turning the other cheek as Jesus would ask, she plants an explosive.  Belle and Warren have similar difficulties at their new school.  A group of boys makes unwanted advances toward Belle, which she answers by beating one of them with a tennis racket.  Warren is bullied, but instead of simply fighting back, he studies the school’s social dynamics and begins building what amounts to his own underground racket.  Meanwhile, Giovanni tells his neighbors that he is a writer working on a book about World War II. In reality, he secretly begins writing his memoirs about organized crime, something Agent Stansfield would prefer he not do. Giovanni also becomes obsessed with the brown water coming from the faucets. His investigation eventually leads him to a fertilizer plant he believes is responsible, and his methods of dealing with the people there demonstrate that he still prefers mob tactics.  Maggie, perhaps sensing that her family could use some Divine assistance, begins spending time at the local Catholic church and befriends the priest (Christian Erickson).  This lasts until she goes to Confession. Once Maggie begins listing what she and her family have actually done, the horrified clergyman tells her not to return.  Belle has a different extracurricular interest in Henri (Jonas Bloquet), an older student serving as a substitute mathematics teacher.  She arranges private tutoring sessions to get closer to him, and their relationship eventually becomes physical.  There is little in this sequence for the practicing Catholic to applaud.  While all this is happening, Warren inadvertently creates the biggest problem facing the family.  For a school assignment, he uses an expression associated with Don Luchese.  Through an extraordinarily unlikely chain of events, the school paper containing it makes its way to Luchese’s prison cell.  The mob boss recognizes the phrase, figures out where Giovanni is hiding, and dispatches hitmen to France.  Giovanni is simultaneously invited to speak at a local film society because everyone believes he is an American writer and historian.  The scheduled movie is changed at the last moment to Goodfellas (1990), which is an amusing choice with Robert De Niro sitting in the audience.  So into the evening does Giovanni become that during the discussion afterward, he begins talking about organized crime with considerably more expertise than his cover story should allow.  Agent Stansfield decides the family must be moved again, but before that can happen their problems come to a head.  Warren learns that school officials have discovered his schemes and prepares to flee.  At the train station, he recognizes the arriving hitmen and heads back to warn his family.  Belle, meanwhile, is devastated when Henri explains that their relationship cannot continue and contemplates killing herself, only to spot the mobsters entering town.  The hitmen begin murdering anyone standing between them and the Manzonis before converging on the family home.  Maggie takes shelter with the FBI agents stationed across the street, while Giovanni returns to find his supposedly quiet French existence turning into the sort of gunfight he had been trying to escape.  The hitmen blow up the house, and the entire Manzoni family falls back on the skills that have caused Agent Stansfield so many headaches.  Maggie and Giovanni fight off one attacker, while Belle gets hold of weapons and joins the battle.  Warren proves equally capable of defending himself, and even the family dog gets involved.  Eventually, the attackers are eliminated, with Agent Stansfield helping finish the job. Their cover is now thoroughly destroyed, meaning the Manzonis must move again.  We close with Giovanni musing about what has transpired but thankful for having his family.

As crazy is the behavior of The Family, they seem to genuinely care about one another.  Their behavior towards one another belies their violent tendencies, something many critics noted in their opinions on the film, saying that it is tonally uneven.  For this Catholic, the unevenness comes with its treatment of the Faith.  Granted, the rest of their behavior is not good.  Violence is not the way to solve problems.  What is possibly worse is that they know better, but continue to act outrageously despite any misgivings.  I am not sure which is worse: Warren’s attempts at building his own criminal enterprise, or Belle about to commit suicide for being jilted after her teenaged indiscretions.  Yet, the person I would criticize the most is the priest.  He does well by inviting Maggie to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation, which he correctly points out is an important first step in returning to Mass.  His behavior after seeing her following her Confession is completely unacceptable.  Going into a private room to tell another person one’s transgressions is difficult enough, but to have that reaction is one of the reasons why many people stop taking part in the Sacrament, or going to Mass entirely.  The sequence when the priest tells her to leave is meant to be comedic, but there is a real fear for some that a member of the cloth will say similar things to anyone willing to make a recitation of their sins.  Even I admit there are times when I go to other churches where the pastor does not know me in order to receive the forgiveness that comes with the Sacrament.  Thankfully, this is not a situation I have experienced, and I pray it never happens to you.

I watch movies like The Family so that you do not have to experience them.  I had hoped that, if nothing else, I would appreciate the French setting.  It would have also been nice had these people learned from their mistakes, but that is not the case.  Hence, this one is eminently skippable.