Atom Egoyan Critical Essay | Critical Review by Suzanne Moore

Critical Review by Suzanne Moore

SOURCE: “Unhappy Families,” in New Statesman and Society, October 7, 1988, p. 46–47.

In the following review, Moore praises Egoyan's exploration of the nature of family in Family Viewing, but finds fault with his use of prostitution to suggest alienation.

All is not well in the heart of that most sacred bastion of society—the family. If you believe what you read you will know that this most fundamental institution is under attack from a multitude of directions. Promiscuous single parents, campaigning homosexuals, morally-irresponsible television programmes and, of course, feminists who claim that the family is the site of woman's oppression par excellence, are all seen to threaten normal family life. You might wonder how something as supposedly natural and institutionalised can feel itself to be so fragile and flimsy.

This week's films may in part provide the answer. For although they are “about” families, they all point to the emptiness...
(read more)