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Viewer Score

100
Viewer score based on 1 vote.

Critic Score

71
Critics' score based on 17 reviews.
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Critic Reviews

The potential for hokum is there, but Duvall and co-star James Earl Jones capably avoid the sticky pitfalls of Tom Epperson and Billy Bob Thornton's sugar-cured script.Full Review

Rita Kempley
Washington Post

Although the movie loses power in its final sections, the performances, writing and Richard Pearce's direction transform this shaky idea into something rewarding.Full Review

Desson Thomson
Washington Post

In A Family Thing, an earnest upbeat fable about the meaning of brotherhood in America, first-rate film acting infuses a contrived story with enough flesh, blood, wrinkles, warts and beads of sweat to make it intermittently surge to life.Full Review

Stephen Holden
The New York Times

It's impossible to dismiss the attraction of such accomplished actors on the big screen, even with a fits-and-starts script.Full Review

Peter Stack
San Francisco Chronicle

The situations are more or less standard (fights over sleeping arrangements, emergencies that have to be solved, moments of truth and confession), but the dialogue and the acting bring the material up to another level.Full Review

Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
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