A father reunites with his family

MANILA, Philippines - Robert De Niro and Sam Rockwell star in Miramax Films’ heartwarming drama-comedy Everybody’s Fine as estranged father and son who suddenly reconnect. The film will be shown exclusively at Ayala Malls Cinemas (Glorietta 4, Greenbelt 3 and Trinoma) starting tomorrow.

In the film, widower Frank Goode (De Niro) realizes his only connection to his family was through his wife. Despite a strict warning from his doctor, Frank sets out on a journey across the US with the intention of surprising each of his children (Drew Barrymore, Kate Beckinsale and Rockwell) with an impromptu visit.

Most influential on De Niro’s work in the film was his own deeply personal experience as a father. “I can identify with this stuff, to say the least,” De Niro remarks. “I can understand what Frank is going through with his kids and that’s what was so interesting to me.”

The tiniest details in De Niro’s performance brought out Frank’s underlying need and hunger for his children’s affection. Notes producer Glynis Murray: “When you watch De Niro in the supermarket walking along with his bag or taking his photographs and then carefully putting his camera back into the right place in his little bag, a lot of people instantly feel, ‘that’s my dad!’ He has that massive relatability.”

Rockwell, who plays Frank’s son, Robert, was compelled by the story’s probing of the scattered modern family. “It seems these days almost everyone is pretty estranged from their parents,” he observes. “It’s a common thread, so this is kind of a soul-searching movie.”

Rockwell, known for his iconoclastic performances in such films as Match Stick Men and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, was intrigued by De Niro — who has made it well in to adulthood without his father even really knowing what he does for a living. “Robert has kind of kept his whole life secret,” he muses. “He has been trying pretty successfully to stay aloof from his family for years when Frank arrives.”

Everybody’s Fine is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International.