By Samir MathurIf there’s one thing to be said for Chris Brown’s ‘Fanny, Annie and Danny’, it’s that it’s certainly never boring. The film begins as a series of strands, and it takes its time to start bringing them all together. A woman with developmental disabilities works in a chocolate factory. A dental hygienist is worried that she’ll be fired and replaced by a younger, better looking woman. A handsome looking dude is accused of stealing money from the teenage rock band he manages. A scruffy guy smokes weed and babbles about the kind of stuff that scruffy guys who smoke weed babble about. And a terrifying older lady screams at her forgetful, Vietnam vet husband. It gradually emerges that all these people are related, and are getting ready for their annual Christmas dinner. Turns out, the titular siblings are also scared of their domineering mother, and so everyone is on edge about the event.
And then, when we get there… ooh, boy. There’s yelling, there are secrets, there’s weed-smoking, and the mom continues to emasculate her husband and the two children that she clearly doesn’t love as much as the other one. It can be tough to watch her being so vicious, especially considering that her primary punching bag is handicapped. The entire final act reminded me of the opening scene in ‘Inglorious Basterds’. You’re waiting for something to happen, some big inevitable culmination of all the tension, and the wait itself is just so palpable and intense. Here, you’re waiting and waiting for all the bitterness to come to something, but I couldn’t possibly tell you how everything pans out. This is a dark, dark film, but not without some moments of levity. It has played the festival circuit fairly extensively over the last year, and has picked up many awards and acclaim. It’s definitely worth your time.