Leo Tolstoy nailed the universal truth about family on its head in the opening sentence of Anna Karenina — “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” Family, in whatever shape or size, is always complicated, messy and crazy — but we wouldn’t trade our own for any other in the world (most of the time).
Gaby Dellal’s (“On A Clear Day,” “Angels Crest”) latest film “3 Generations,” being finally released by The Weinstein Company after debuting at TIFF back in 2015, stars Naomi Watts (“Mulholland Drive”), Elle Fanning (“20th Century Women”) and Susan Sarandon (“Thelma & Louise,” “Feud”) as members of a unique family undergoing a period of transition.
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The film has undergone a blatant marketing teardown by Harvey Weinstein. The film, originally titled “About Ray,” debuted at TIFF way back in 2015 and Harvey pulled it from its original release date of September 18th, 2015, because he wasn’t happy with it. A million cuts later, Weinstein decides to shine the turd, packaging the film with a shiny new name and going into battle with the MPAA for its R rating. This is old hat for Harvey, having done similar rating campaigns for “Clerks,” “Blue Valentine,” “The King’s Speech,” “Bully” and “Philomena,” which not only positions him as a “crusader” for the integrity of film, but also drums up favorable press for a film not many people liked to begin with (supported by its rotten RT score). Here is the official synopsis, below:
3 GENERATIONS tells the stirring and touching story of three generations of a family living under one roof in New York as they deal with the life-changing transformation by one that ultimately affects them all. Ray (Elle Fanning) is a teenager who has struggled with the body assigned to him at birth and is determined to start transitioning. His single mother, Maggie (Naomi Watts), must track down Ray’s biological father (Tate Donovan) to get his legal consent to allow Ray’s transition. Dolly (Susan Sarandon), Ray’s lesbian grandmother is having a hard time accepting that she now has a grandson. They must each confront their own identities and learn to embrace change and their strength as a family in order to ultimately find acceptance and understanding.
“3 Generations” opens in New York and Los Angeles on May 5th, 2017.
[Variety]