Family Law

FLICK When boys grow up to be like their fathers, is it hereditary or because it’s something they want to do? Family Law (AKA Derecho de Familia) is a witty portrait of a son who avoids being like his father until he then becomes a father reevaluating his own life and how he will raise his son.
Perelman (Daniel Hendler) is a lawyer who also teaches at the university but has avoided working side by side with his father Perelman Sr. (Arturo Goetz), where there is a place for him. In a lengthy voice-over, Perelman describes how he went to work with his father as a boy and witnessed a daily routine not easily followed. Perelman Sr. knows the birthdays of every client and the workers within the Argentine Jewish community, unlike his son who shows up for lunch and doesn’t remember that it’s his father’s birthday. At the university, the lessons Perelman teaches in his class mirror the lessons he’s about to learn in his life. One of his pupils, Sandra (Julieta Diaz), will become his wife and mother of his son but not until he takes a Pilates class from her and wins a legal problem for her never mentioning that it was with the help of his father.
Hendler is perfect at playing the dualities of Perelman, appearing successful yet under-achieving and subtly registering a mix of expressions from certainty (in his classes) to squinty-eyed puzzlement (with his father) and playfulness (with his son).
Director Daniel Burman lets us observe the characters in their daily routines making his point in understated moments like Perelman going to bed in his suit or creating distance by avoiding mentioning not going to work for a month. The film is more character-driven than plot-driven in order to place significance on contrasting identities of parent and child. Both Perelmans are never addressed by first name, creating a unity and closer familial bond, which may not be apparent to the younger Perelman but in the end, it’s like father like son. My Score: 8.5 out of 10.