People Like Us - Elizabeth Banks Triumphant

*** 1/2 of *****

Running time: 115 minutes

MPAA rating: PG-13 for language, some drug use and brief sexuality.

Elizabeth Banks should be declared a national treasure. In film after film she consistently displays a strong dramatic talent which blends with a genuine likeability that very few actresses can consistently muster. Earlier this summer she was the sole redeeming presence in the otherwise forgettable What to Expect When You're Expecting, and now, in People Like Us, she brings us a character who mixes strength and vulnerability in equal portions to create a memorable role that should bring her serious attention when the awards season arrives.

A story of family love and rediscovery, People Like Us tells the narrative of a down-on-his luck businessman (Chris Pine) whose uncanny ability to close shady deals is undercut by his miserable track record with personal relationships. When he is obliged to attend his estranged father's funeral, he finds himself attempting to set things right in the family he has tried so long to escape. This means becoming involved with his spurned mother (a striking Michelle Pfeiffer) and insinuating himself into the disintegrating personal affairs of the half-sister he never knew he had (Banks).

Banks and her son (played strongly by Michael Hall D'Addario) have a tough life, strained by monetary and behavioral problems. With no support from friends or family, they are in desperate need of a life fix. So when Pine enters their world as a mysterious presence, mother and son both clutch at his proffered help. Complications arise because he is unable to reveal his true relationship to them, clouding his motivations and their sudden emotional attachment to him.
He quickly finds himself over his head in a budding relationship with Banks. She's a recovering alcoholic, struggling to support her son while despairing at ever being able to reverse the downward spiral of their lives. She can't provide the sort of stability her boy needs, and Pine's own failures prevent him from offering the kind of support from which they would all benefit.

People Like Us is a classy work of familial redemption, like Scorsese's Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, Rain Man and On Golden Pond. And the fortuitous pairing of Pine and Banks was an inspired choice by director Alex Kurtzman. But it is Banks' heartrending performance of despair and resilience which is the heart of the film. Her portrayal is one of the year's best.