Bad Family (film)

Bad Family is a 2010 Finnish drama film written and directed by Aleksi Salmenperä and produced by Aki Kaurismäki. The film tells the story of an overly protective and controlling father who suspects incest is taking place between his own son and daughter. These growing suspicions and concerns cause the father to become delusional and unrelenting in his quest to end the love affair between his children.
Distributed domestically by Sandrew Metronome, Bad Family was theatrically released in Finland on 29 January 2010. From 14 to 21 February 2010 it was screened at the 60th Berlin International Film Festival.

Plot

After a divorce a father, Mikael Lindgren, raises his son, Daniel, on his own. His ex-wife, Laura, has custody over his daughter, Tilda. When Laura dies, Daniel and Tilda finally meet again.

Cast

Ville Virtanen — Mikael Lindberg
Lauri Tilkanen — Daniel
Pihla Viitala — Tilda
Vera Kiiskinen — Laura
Niki Seppälä — Milo
Ismo Kallio — Jaan

Critical response

In a review of the film, Jonathan Romney of Screen Daily called Salmenperä's storyline a "confident study of family trauma" and proclaimed the film "a compelling, sometimes darkly witty drama." Alissa Simon of Variety magazine stated that Bad Family has a "perversely fascinating start" after which the "darkly comic psychodrama goes plain psycho". She commended the "serious thesping by the three principals" for suggesting "psychological depth" but concluded that "the script eventually leaves them high and dry" and that " loses its way at the midpoint, becoming a tonal roller-coaster that skitters to a stop."