A Family Man

7.1/10 (Recommend)

Perhaps it's what I have going on in my own life. Perhaps it's what I've seen in the lives of others. Whatever it is this movie made me bawl my eyes for a good chunk of it. I was much more emotional than I expected. This isn't the happy, sarcastic movie I thought it was going to be. It's deeply emotional and reminds us that there's limited time on this earth. We never know when things could change and we shouldn't let work dictate our entire lives. We need to make time for those we love and those who love us.

The acting is more powerful than I could've hoped for. Everyone draws you into this dramatic and emotional story. You feel for the family in both the good and hard times. Though the ending isn't what would be expected it still gives you a glimmer of hope in this world. That things can change and there's always hope to start anew.

I know not everyone will feel as tied to this as I have, but it is definitely worth the time. If I had known how I would react to this film I wouldn't have watched it so late, but I'm glad to have checked it out.

That's all for now. Thank you for taking the time to read my review. Until next time.... Enjoy the show!

The story line was very predictable and the acting was just about watchable. People living the dog eat dog world of money and consumerism who plan or have a family should watch this.This move is a must watch for the content not the music or acting. Gerard Butler aka "The Headhunter" performance deserves 5/10 for confirming the greed of the headhunting business.

Ah, the new movie starring Gerard Butler, the poor man's Clive Owen, always up for some good all-American entertainment that makes you think but also makes you smile. This one's about a headhunter whose life revolves around closing deals in survival-of-the-fittest boiler room. He battles his top rival for control of the company, but then his oldest child falls seriously ill. Also starring, Gretchen Mol as the loving but ever-suffering wife, Willem Dafoe as the ruthless boss, Alison Brie as the rival and Alfred Molina as the token solid supporting male character. First and foremost, „A Family Man" is a genre movie, which means it's produced and put together of clichés in hope of finding a suitable mainstream audience. The approach is pretty solid one, using several drama subgenres in order to appeal to wider circle of cinema-goers, including sick child story, a middle class American success story, finding yourself again story and some „Wall Street" type high-octane competence porn. The execution is actually pretty solid too. The able cast are doing their darndest best to act through all the material, and there's a lot of it. 108 minute movie may feel quite a bit longer, at least for those who have seen way too many movies to take all these clichés and workmanlike storytelling seriously. On the other hand, those who still watch movies as just a nice way of passing time, or aren't tired of bland dramas made of middle- class dreams and aspirations, can definitely find some entertainment here. They don't even have to think how to feel because the movie manipulates you in all the right directions at the right time. I am taking a wild guess that "A Family Man" is most suitable for girlish audience, but it will also surely feel in the right place when it's 2 am and you're desperately trying to find something new to watch with Butler starring in it. He's a doing a fine job too, the whole result relies on his manly charm and grunting. All in all, there's nothing wrong with „A Family Man". It's just there's nothing terribly exciting either, with the creative bar set relatively low and all. I hope I didn't sound too ironic here or something, I quite liked the movie for what it is.

Writer Bill Dubuque and Director Mark Williams have created a tender, sensitive family story that is well developed and addresses many of the issues we all face. A brilliant cast delivers the goods with style and empathy - and Chicago has never been so beautifully captured photographically as cinematographer Shelly Johnson has accomplished. The musical score is by the always-reliable Mark Isham.

As the boss (Willem Dafoe) of a Chicago-based headhunter, Dane Jensen (Gerard Butler), who works at the Blackridge Recruiting agency arranging jobs for engineers, prepares to retire, Jensen vies to achieve his longtime goal of taking over the company going head-to-head with his ambitious rival, Lynn Vogel (Alison Brie). Factors intervene: Dane's close friend Lou (Alfred Molina) is unemployed and desperate for work, Dane's wife Elise (Gretchen Mol) is concerned Dane is not spending time with his family, and Dane's 10-year-old son, Ryan (Max Jenkins), is suddenly diagnosed with Acute Lymphatic Leukemia by the doctor Singh (Anupam Kher) and his professional priorities at work and personal priorities at home begin to clash with one another. Dane spends quality time with Ryan by touring the beautiful architectural wonders of Chicago and Ryan's wise observations set Dane on a new path. Dane finds a job for Lou (at Dane's expense of giving up a headhunter's fee for a friend), and Dane and Elise grow closer. Dane is pulled between achieving his professional dream and supporting his wife and son, who need him now more than ever.

Much of the success of the film is attributable to the fine performance by Gerard Butler, but he is enhanced by the performances of the entire cast. A very 'feel good' movie, perfect to restore faith in humankind just when we need it the most.

Living so busy in life and very limited for family, this movie reminds us that job and money should,t be the priority in our life. The family are what really matters in our real life and we should give time to the family before its late. acting, writing, romance, music, score, and camera, work is excellent and everyone should watch the movie to learn this important lesson before it late for us.