Film Review: Fanny, Annie & Danny

Review: Fanny, Annie & Danny 

Chris Brown’s story of three grown up siblings brought back together for Christmas by their domineering mother is filled with fascinating characters, drama and some amusing moments. Fanny (Jill Pixley) is the eldest of the siblings, a fragile victim of OCD who has worked in the same factory for years only to be informed that it is closing. Annie (Carlyle Pollack) works at a dentists and is eager for better things, including a lavish wedding to her fiancé, Todd (Nick Frangione), who is unemployed and smokes pot. Then there is Danny (Jonathan Leveck), the youngest sibling and favoured by Annie and their frightening mother, Edie (Collette Keene), who dominates the room and has near subdued her husband, Ronnie (George Killingsworth). A reunion at Christmas might be just what the family needs but this is far from a warm and cozy get together.

The film switches between the family members as it builds carefully to the Christmas reunion. Fanny, played wonderfully by Pixley, manages to annoy all of those around her, yet you can’t help but feel for her. Danny has found himself in a spot of bother with money, accused of stealing funds from a band he has been managing. Perhaps his family can help him out. Though Annie loves her fiancé, Todd frequently frustrates her especially when he insists that she chill whenever she’s worked up. Annie is desperate for attention and seeing the family together you get the impression Fanny enjoyed a lot of the focus as she grew up, Annie was bypassed and the love was then focused on Danny where it has remained ever since.

Edie is near monstrous to her children. She has no patience for Fanny, rolls her eyes at Annie’s wedding plans but falls at the feet of Danny when he comes home! Ronnie is mostly quiet, trying to lose himself in television or hiding in his shed where his treasured mementoes from the Vietnam War are. He is clearly a man that has enjoyed life in the past but no longer does now. For all his laziness, Todd is the reluctant mediator for the family, being kind and patient with Fanny, showing an interest in Ronnie and even managing to have a calm conversation with Edie though not for long. There are suggestions that Danny hasn’t seen the family for a while and it is this distance that has shielded him somewhat from his mother, but even then he is looking out only for himself in the end. This is a family with many irrevocable problems. The film’s ending is sudden and open-ended, allowing us to draw our own conclusion but it’s clear that years of pent up resentment and frustration finally bubble over for some of the characters though I won’t say which ones.

Fanny, Annie & Danny is well-acted, has a simple but engaging storyline throughout and so many scenes that will make you shudder as we spend Christmas with this not so loving family. Seldom has the proverb, “You can choose your friends, but not your family” seemed more appropriate.

Verdict: 4/5

(Film source: reviewer received a copy from the director in exchange for a fair and honest review)