A grieving family is forced to confront their secrets during a seven-day shiva
In short: When their father passes away, four estranged siblings must return to their childhood home to observe a week of mourning. Under the watchful eye of their celebrity psychologist mother, long-buried tensions, failed marriages, and unexpected romantic revelations surface, turning a traditional religious gathering into a chaotic, transformative family reunion.
Directed by Shawn Levy and based on the 2009 novel by Jonathan Tropper, the 2014 film This Is Where I Leave You centers on the Altman family. Following the death of their father, Mort, the four siblings—Judd, Wendy, Paul, and Phillip—are mandated by their mother, Hilary, to sit shiva for one week. This forced proximity acts as a pressure cooker, exposing the fractures in their adult lives, from Judd’s crumbling marriage to Wendy’s regret over a past accident that left her former partner, Horry Callen, with a permanent brain injury.
The narrative explores the friction between the siblings' individual struggles and their shared history. Judd, a radio producer, grapples with his wife’s infidelity, while Paul, the eldest, attempts to maintain order within the family’s sporting goods business. As the week progresses, the siblings navigate a series of interpersonal conflicts, including a physical altercation between the brothers and the revelation of their mother’s secret romantic life. The film uses these moments of high tension to facilitate a slow reconciliation, culminating in the siblings finding a path forward as they eventually depart the family home.
Critical reception of the film was mixed, with Rotten Tomatoes reporting a 45% approval rating and Metacritic assigning a score of 44 out of 100. Critics often noted that despite the high-profile ensemble cast, the execution felt somewhat pedestrian. However, audiences were more receptive, awarding the film a B+ grade via CinemaScore. Commercially, the production performed modestly, grossing $41 million worldwide against a production budget of approximately $20 million, proving that even a star-studded cast cannot always guarantee critical acclaim, though it can still resonate with viewers looking for a character-driven family drama.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: This Is Where I Leave You
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