WHAT THEY HAD: A Resounding Family Drama

There’s nothing harder than seeing a loved one go through a trying experience. One particularly heart-wrenching ailment is Alzheimer’s disease. How do you offer help when the person doesn’t remember who you are? The answer is shown in Elizabeth Chomko’s debut feature film, What They Had, an emotionally charged drama, with necessary levity.

Commitment And Love

Bridget (Hilary Swank) gets a call from her brother Nick (Michael Shannon) letting her know that their mother Ruth (Blythe Danner) who suffers from the disease, has wandered off. Bridget catches a flight back home to Chicago, her apathetic college daughter Emma (Taissa Farmiga) in tow.

He wants her help in convincing their father that Ruth needs to live somewhere else, where she can be better taken care of. It’s also Christmas Eve, so the tentative reunion of the family is paired with the holiday.

Robert Forster is Burt, the stubborn husband insisting on Ruth staying with him, and he feels confident that he is all she needs. There’s the usual familial unease, as they all have differing opinions on what’s best for the matriarch. While Nick has stayed behind caring for his parents, Bridget and husband Eddie (Josh Lucas) have been in California, somewhat detached from what’s going on.

A deep seeded narrative fiber in What They had is that of love. Burt and Ruth’s long-standing romance is threatened by unforeseen, woeful circumstances. What if she no longer remembers him? How do you even begin to comprehend that?

Bridget and Eddie’s marriage was created by the idea that it was the right thing for Bridget to do, mostly tying in to her desire to please her father at the time. Now her discontentment has her unsure of her own courage to change. Nick and his girlfriend have also split, and he’s been residing in the back room at his bar.

It also focuses on the decisions we make and how they effect the one’s we care about. We want to appeal to our parent’s desires for us, to not disappoint, but eventually, things get turned around, and the children are the educators.

This generational quandary is also developed with Bridget and her daughter Emma. She assumes her daughter wants to be in school, and that it is the “right” thing to do. However, she doesn’t consider what’s right for her.

What They Had takes us through familial discord, shared moments of harmony and doubt, without abandoning the initial conflict in question: what’s best for Ruth?

A Stand Out Debut

In large part the film succeeds by its intelligent writing and the perfect cast. Elizabeth Chomko writes and directs her first feature film, and it couldn’t have been a more personal or precise choice.

There is a subtle ambiance that capture’s the tenuous nature of life and the very human interactions that we stumble through. She also makes great use of Wintery Chicago as a backdrop for the troubling scenario.

This is most definitely a tear-jerker, with some subplots a little on the nose, but it also manages to be very funny, delivering on enough to reel even the hardest movie-goers in.

I’ve yet to see a performance of Michael Shannon’s that disappointed. Even when a film itself isn’t amazing, he is always a bright spot. Here, his vulnerability and rage is contained, though its bursting out in only a way that Shannon can tackle; in a comically sarcastic fashion. Together, Shannon and Swank are believable as siblings, as the two have a hair-pulling, but ultimately endearing relationship.

Hilary Swank reminds us why she’s an Oscar winner, in a gripping execution. Blythe Danner gives a moving, pained portrayal as a woman lost in her own mind. Danner is always graceful, somehow even when she’s delivering comedic and yet heartbreaking lines.

Robert Forster stands out, commanding every scene he is in. His is a striking portrayal of a husband not wanting to let go of the love of his life.

Taissa Farmiga is a little underused, as is Josh Lucas, with parts that work mostly as markers for Swank to play off of, further driving home her endearing work.

There’s a lot of moments in the film that might be construed as overly soppy, but the heart is what binds us, breaks us, and inevitably moves us, so the use here is warranted. Undoubtedly, this will feel as intimate to the viewers as it clearly is to her in this feature debut.

With a plot like this one, there must be critical instances of tenderness, and whenever we get reminded it only strengthens the power of the struggle. There’s a reliable voice developed by Chomko, dipping into grief and the difficult decisions we all grapple with.

This is a very crippling disease, and What They Had keeps this resolutely abundant. Even in its foreseeable turns (you mostly know where things are going) and the wobbly finale, the journey there is enough.

Conclusion: What They Had

What They Had is an honest snapshot of a family during crisis, in all its inevitably chaotic shades. There’s a necessary and well-written comedic undertone that sneaks its way into scenes with a deft hand by Elizabeth Chomko.

It’s exactly what you’d hope a movie like this would be; remarkably astute with just enough sentimentality. This family is tangible- it could be your parents, siblings, children- making it especially touching.

What did you think? Did the film have an effect on you? Let us know in the comments below!

What They Had was released on October 19, 2018 and will be in the UK on March 1, 2019. For all international release dates, see here.