With a commanding visual style, subtle characterizations, and stellar performances, writer-director Rafaël Ouellet crafts a beautiful tale of underground criminality through the lenses of our collective human nature in Family Game. This is a stoic, stylized, and undeniably profound thriller. It follows the Arsenault family, big game poachers moonlighting as auto repairmen in a small Quebec town.
Adam (Guillaume Cyr), our empathetic anti-hero, is the town’s fire marshal. Despite his best attempts to distance himself from his family’s “business,” he remains entirely culpable for their actions. Said business was built by Anthony’s father, André (Luc Picard), and grandfather, Armard (Julien Poulin). It involves selling out-of-season game across Canada, and they’ve been at it for decades. That is, until their local game warden, Sergent Ross (Patrick Goyette), attempts to put a stop to their malpractice.
Adam’s younger brother, Anthony (Pierre-Paul Alain), is much less stable and far more involved in the illegal happenings. Having found his way back home after time away, Anthony quickly falls in with a group of delinquents, and chaos ensues. His impulsive nature fuels much of the characterizations in this crime drama. Ouellet does a great job of injecting moments of friction into his overtly meditative affair.
“…selling out-of-season game across Canada…”
Moreover, the director’s adherence to imagery — like deer carcasses hung up in the Arsenault garage or Anthony crawling on all fours — creates resonant moments from start to finish. The scenic vistas do quite a bit to imbue the setting with a genuine personality and strengthen the entire project outright. Family Game is almost Robin Hood-esque, with the Arsenaults attempting to outwit the Canadian authorities to get away with poaching. To put it simply, you root for these people. The main family believes Canada’s hunting season is far too short, and the wildlife is unbound by law. After all, why should it be illegal to take a little extra? These simple facts propel the Arsenaults to take the things they believe belong to them. Therein lies the difference of opinion that is the basis for the entire film.
Family Game doesn’t pull punches in its interpersonal entanglements, and as the film takes a turn toward betrayal, one can’t help but remain on the edge of their seat. The plot is a game of cat and mouse between Sergent Ross and the Arsenault gang until a new player enters the fray. Émilie (Karine Vanasse), a disc jockey at the local radio station, quickly endears herself to Adam. Yet, as their romance grows, we discover that Émilie is an undercover agent for Wildlife Protection Services dead set on bringing the Arsenaults down.
In the end, Family Game remains wholly unique and a story worth sinking your teeth into.
"…worth sinking your teeth into."
