A father and son, both lawyers, cross the street. Suddenly, a man cries out "Dr. Perelman!" Both respond, but when Perelman Jr. realizes that he's not the one being called, he gazes out with a look of intense disappointment at being unintentionally relegated to second banana status vis-a-vis his dad.
In less than thirty seconds, this scene sums up the dynamic of Argentine director Daniel Burman's Family Law.
Perelman Jr. (Daniel Hendler) lives under the shadow of his well-respected, successful father (Arturo Goetz). He doesn't have the dignity of a name of his own — even his wife Sandra (Julieta Diaz) calls him "Perelman"— but aging and raising his own son inevitably bring him closer to independence.
When Perelman Sr. and Jr. are onscreen together, Family Law shines. Burman's direction isn't particularly stylish or distinctive, but he compensates with a finely calibrated manipulation of tension and dead space. Hendler's superb performance hints at a passive-aggresssive nature behind Perelman Jr.'s genial facade. But Family Law is much less successful at depicting married life, glossing over Sandra and Perelman Jr.'s courtship in a cutesy sequence that relies too heavily on voice-over. Burman seems so bored by women that Family Law would be better if Sandra's part was even smaller. All the same, his film strikes some real nerves about the pressures of being a son. — Steve Erickson