'We were the Mulvanney's is one of the most powerful films about the family I have ever seen. It is brilliant especially seen through the eyes of the the teenage youngest of four, his helplessness and yet his belief in his siblings, most of all his love for them. It is a measure for all families who downward spiral, one that is left unchecked by so called parents. The central characters have intelligence, and above all love. Familys are important and this film seeks to warn the viewer of great emotional losses that can be avoided. However, it takes more than one family member to be positive to redress the problems some parents find unsolvable. Joyce Kelly.

This is meant to be a sad and inspiring drama based on a popular novel. I hadn't read the novel and didn't know what to expect. While watching it though I couldn't help but find it hilarious. Not in a bad way though. They take the viewer into the image of a perfectly happy Christian family with no troubles and a great life. They quickly corrupt this image to their full extent with a series of rape, violence, excessive alcohol drinking, child disowning, child-abuse, illegal weapon use and near murder.The plot is fairly simple. A family must test their faith and selflessness when a series of vile acts are befell upon them.Not too intense though and not really the best movie to watch if your bored. It doesn't seem to go in too many directions. Stays fairly simple so the majority of people would probably leave their seat halfway through. But this movie is easy to just sit down too if you want to get in deep with your thoughts. 5/10

Joyce Carol Oates' prose has not been adapted as much as other American writers for the movies. She is not the most accessible author, but her books pack a tremendous impact for her followers.This film suffers from the treatment given to it by Joyce Eliason and its director, Peter Werner. It's clear that such a massive novel has to be trimmed to its bare essentials, and it shows in the 90 minutes of film it was given.Spoilers herein.Michael Mulvaney has a rude awakening from his suburban-sitcom family life when his daughter, Marianne, is raped at the school prom by one of the jocks that happened to be the son of one of the most influential person in town. His wife Corinne Mulvaney, instead of facing reality and be supportive of the daughter, turns away from her, the same way her father Michael does. Corinne is a cold woman, we don't particularly like her because of the role she takes in the tragedy. Corinne takes the attitude of not speaking about the incident with the rest of her children, trying perhaps to shelter them from the truth.Marianne is the butt of cruel jokes in school where everybody knows what really happened to her. Whatever friends she had, instead of being compassionate, they take the jock's side and Marianne has to be exiled to an aunt's house in a nearby town. Thus, this tragedy begins.We watch as the once popular Mulvaneys begin to fall out of grace in their close knitted community, losing most of their money, the farm, and as a family, they start to unravel. Nothing will make them go back to their glory days. The biggest toll is on the father, who becomes a drunk; he deserts the family, who is left alone to fend for themselves. They will reunite at the end, but after it's too late to make amends and save the family.Beau Bridges, as the patriarch, is excellent. This is an under estimated actor who is so versatile, he tends to lose himself from one film to the next. Blythe Danner, on the other hand, is not quite the mother we expected to see. Perhaps with the direction given to her, she makes us not appreciate the nuance with which she plays this character. The real surprise was Tammy Blanchard who played Marianne. At the beginning she is a shy, perhaps sheltered girl who through no fault of her own is made into a victim because of that same naivite quality we see in her. Ms Blanchard makes a beautiful and sweet Marianne.

Blythe danner as Corinne is inspired, yet for some reason the feeling of the movie was so terribly insipid compared to the book. The rest of the actors seemed very stiff and not to understand themselves within the context of the story; particularly Marianne's character. And the costumes sucked. Whenever I read this novel I think it would be perfect for a movie, but unfortunately this version fell threw. I hope they option it for the big screen using some more talented actors or at least a more talented director.