Family Sins (1987 TV Movie) User Reviews

a very sad film about a form of abuse too often overlooked

[medic249a2 · 7/10 · 21 May 2006]

I saw this when I was a teenager myself. It was so disturbing that I didn't see it again until I was in my 20s.

The premise of this movie is incredibly sad; James Farentino is brilliant as Gordon Williams, a man whose views of what boys should do - playing sports & outdoors - fits a very narrow stereotype. Only one of his sons, Keith, fits his father's mold. The older son, Brian, is more at home absorbed in a book or computer than in sports - and despite his father's attempts to make him fit this mold, Gordon soon finds it's like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. Mr. Williams makes no secret of his favoritism towards Keith, and despite his wife Kate's (Jill Eikenberry of L.A. Law) attempts to defend Brian, Gordon presses on with his mission to force Brian to fit his rather narrow standards. Brian is gradually revealed as a boy with very serious emotional problems (the death of the pet rabbit, running away from home), but his father continues to show a blatant favoritism towards Keith. It will end in the ultimate tragedy. On a holiday, Keith is drowned after falling from a canoe. Kate & Gordon are devastated, as is Brian, who I think actually loved his brother but resented his dad's blatant favoritism towards Keith. The local sheriff interviews Brian about the accident & discovers a horrifying truth - that Brian deliberately acted too slow to rescue Keith. Brian is charged with voluntary manslaughter after his admission to the sheriff (perhaps he saw his life as having already ended). When the sheriff informs Kate of these facts, she is horrified - and confronts her husband angrily about his obvious favoritism. Gordon defends his behavior, and Kate states that she no longer wants to be married to him if he continues to act this way. It appears that a father's rigid, narrow mindset have set in motion a tragic chain of events that have obliterated a family.

The issue of emotional abuse is not often raised today, as physical & sexual abuse are the criminal acts that are raised in the media. Although not a crime, emotional abuse can scar its victims for life, particularly when it comes from a parent. This movie raised that tragic issue for however a short time. It is a very sad but all-too-realistic portrayal of what CAN happen when emotional abuse is allowed to continue in a family.

Child abuse comes in many forms

[cosmic_quest · 6/10 · 6 May 2006]

'Family Sins' is a very sad film about how emotional abuse of a child can be every bit as damaging as physical or sexual abuse and that blatant favouritism should have no place in a loving family.

The film centred the Williams' who, on the surface, appear to be your typical all-American family with mother Kate, father Gordon and their two young sons, eleven-year-old Bryan and nine-year-old Keith. Gordon is an over-bearing man who values being seen as strong, sporty and well-respected in men so it's natural he finds it very easy to adore his youngest son Keith, an energetic, boisterous child with a talent for sport and who hero-worships his father. Gordon's relationship with his older son is more troubled as sensitive Bryan would rather play with computers or read a book so finds his father pushing him into physical activities hard to cope with. Inevitably, he continually clashes with his father, watching enviously as Gordon turns around and lavishes love and attention on Keith. But when Keith drowns in a boating accident, Bryan's part in the death is called into question and Gordon and Kate must face the truth over just how far a jealous, angry child can be pushed before he snaps.

James Farentino is very effective in portraying man who uses attention as a reward for winning and who is not at all above showing his bitter disappointment in having a quiet, reserved son in Bryan. There is something very cruel in how he deliberately pits his sons against each other, playing on Keith's devotion to him as a way of needling Bryan. Jill Eikenberry's Kate is depicted as a woman who sees the hurt her husband is causing Bryan and though she confronts him on occasion, she never really acts until it is too late for both the boys. It is Thomas Wilson Brown, as Bryan, who really carries the film. His performance shows us a boy who is angry, pained and confused over his relationship with his father and we see how every time his father blatantly fawns over Keith, it's like a blow to him. It's clear this boy did love his younger brother but their fraternal bond was being poisoned by their father.

'Family Sins' is a film into the darker side of family life and how favouritism of one child over another can be devastating and can have life-long consequences (if Keith had not died, Bryan would have grown up always feeling second best in his father's life and that is something no child should feel). Gordon may never beaten his sons but his bullying damaged Bryan just as much as a battering would have. It evident from what Bryan does to the rabbit that this is a boy with emotional problems from the onset, whether that is something inherent to him from birth or is his father's doing is never addressed. It would have added more to the story had we known just what motivated him, if he was mentally ill and Gordon's treatment just shoved him over the edge or whether it was growing up with a cold, over-bearing father that left him staying his hand during Keith's drowning.

This isn't a very happy film, especially as we know there can never really be a joyous resolution for Bryan and his family, but it is very insightful into the repercussions of growing up with bullying and/or favouritism.

Fell short on the acting in many scenes, but good story

[GummoRabbit · 7/10 · 7 November 2011]

This movie has a great storyline for those who love to explore the dark side of psychology and the resulting family dynamics. As sad as the movie could be, the story was compelling enough to be enjoyable. If you're savvy enough to pick up on the parents' faults, you'll find yourself rooting for the kids the whole time through the movie.

Now for the flaws...Other than the character who played Bryan, there were many scenes where the acting fell short. The child character Keith had lines that often times seemed forced. I also found the parents reactions to big events to be ineffective. For instance, there is one very traumatic event in the movie and the parents have almost no emotion towards what happened leaving the audience member feeling the same way: unemotional. Acting is definitely not a detail to overlook when it comes to a drama such as this.

Overall, I gave this movie a seven because the storyline was one that interested me enough to keep watching and stay pretty content, but that will be very dependent on the viewer.

James Farentino as the father from hell

[dtucker86 · 30 June 2002]

This was one of the darkest most depressing tv films I have ever seen. It also made me so angry because it deals with child abuse. James Farentino is a cruel, abusive father whos blatant favoritism towards his youngest son drives his older son to murder. Farentino's character makes Bull Mechum look warm and loving. I felt so much rage for this poor boy. As far as I'm concerned they should have put this man in jail. A good title for this film should be Sins Of THe Father.

Emotional Favoritism abuse

[anthonymessina-18393 · 10/10 · 21 April 2024]

The reason I gave this movie a 10, because it tackles every aspect within the realm of what takes place in families. This takes it over the edge of the norm but not enough to discard it's importance. From a father playing favorites to one and expecting the same expectations in another. Yet the other is not the same. Although the father pushes Bryan to be just like his brother Keith. Making him feel bad if he is not the same. As the movie continues it broadens in detail of how the abuse that Bryan is suffering and its progressing at a rapid pace. Being closed emotionally does not help Bryan. From taking his frustrations out on an animal, he decides the best way perhaps to eliminate his brother. Then he would have his dad all to himself and gain his love. And the way they tackle things, Emotionally from the parents to even the child I think is commendable because they do try to get to the root of what led to this. Unfortunately a bit too late. This is why I say it's extremely important for many families to watch this with their kids at a certain age. Not a young child but at a certain age just about 12 or 13 I think would understand this. That's my take on a movie that took a topic of the favoritism abuse to where it needed to go to Garner the attention it received in the hopes that anybody that has that thought to hurt someone out of vengefulness is not the way to go. At the end the father looks at his son. Says I don't blame you. And I love you son. A little too late after the damage has been done.

Gosh...I guess kids are always right!

[BrettErikJohnson · 2/10 · 2 October 2004]

The family in this TV movie consists of a mother, father, and two boys. The older boy, Bryan, is having a lot of issues and this worthless claptrap would have us believe it is mostly the father's fault.

What does Dad do that's so awful? Well, for starters he wants to teach Bryan to be a better baseball player and show him how to get in front of ground balls. He also wants Bryan to stop lying to him and once in a while actually show some responsibility. The father also has the nerve to get angry when poor, misunderstood Bryan decides to kill a pet rabbit. What a monster that IL' Pops is!!

Does the father abuse Bryan? No. Does he ignore Bryan or spend all his time berating his sensitive son? Um...no. Jill Eikenberry's portrayal of the mother makes you want to shake some sense into her. To dear Mom, no matter what Bryan does it's okay and what is truly haunting is just how many parents feel this way in the real world. All you have to do is support your kids and everything will be great. Sorry, but if that were true and kids were that wise then they would never need any adults around. They could take care of themselves.

Of course, the fact that the parents refuse to get any help for spoiled Bryan leads to an even greater tragedy than a slaughtered bunny. In the end, "Family Sins" lets us know that kids just need lots of love and they will grow up just fine. The funny thing is that this philosophy flies in the face of everything else that occurs in the movie. Letting Bryan get away with worse and worse behavior without intervening brought about a sickening turn of events.

The only reason I don't give this pop psychology vehicle a rating of 1 is that I hope at least a few people out there have watched it and can see beyond the bleeding heart nonsense this promotes. Hopefully they can see that ignoring serious family issues may bring about some horrible ends. 2/10

I've only watched half the movie and I already want the father to die the most horrible death ever.

[benghill · 11 June 2018]

Though I haven't finished the movie, and I don't know if I can even sit trough the rest of it, I already feel the need to talk about it. I don't mean to offend anyone or disrespect their opinions, but I am greatly shocked by one of these reviews. I don't mean to single you out, xfile1971, but I think who greatly misinterpreted this movie. I understand your review is from 14 years ago and your opinions might have changed.

At first, Bryan seems like an innocent child. All he wants is to feel loved. He certainly doesn't get that from his father. At the very beginning of the movie, Bryan's dad is forcing him to play baseball, when he clearly hates it. He constantly praises his other son Keith and never says one good word about Bryan. During the came, Bryan is humiliated and injured. His father mostly cares about him losing the game. Bryan is upset because he feels he disappointed his father, which he did. Bryan's mother tells his father to talk to him and let him know he's not disappointed in Bryan. He does exactly the opposite. Bryan's father makes Bryan feel worse about loosing and shows no concern for his minor injury. He refuses to let Bryan quit, even though he didn't want to join the team in the first place. These actions may not be considered abusive, but Bryan's father is beyond horrible. He favors one kid over the other because he is more like him. He knows his son is depressed, yet he shows no concern. He does not seem to care at all about Bryan's well-being. All he cares about is himself. I didn't think he could get much worse from here. I couldn't be more wrong.

Within the first half of the movie, Bryan's father physically abuses him twice and yells at him over minor things. He doesn't once take responsibility for his actions. Bryan's mother is not much better. She actually cares about Bryan, just not enough to do anything. Bryan is very depressed and bullied at school. I don't think that is a secret to his parents. Bryan's mother only stands up to her husband after the second time he hits Bryan. If she truly cared about Bryan, she would have called child-protective services and maybe even run away with both her kids. Neither of the parents even considers therapy.

When a child is so depressed he won't talk to either of his parents, that is already cause enough for therapy. Not because there is anything wrong with the child. Because the child will only continue to suffer until they deal with their problems in a healthy way. I know this because I am in therapy. There's nothing wrong with me. I just have depression because throughout my life people have made me feel bad about myself. I find Bryan very relatable. Of course, I've never taken my anger out on an innocent being. That's because my parents actually care about me and I was able to get help. Bryan was never so lucky.

It is clear that Bryan is a good kid. His teacher really cares for him and trusts him with his rabbit. He even says Bryan is his best student. Bryan is in no way spoiled. I've dealt with spoiled kids. They show no respect for adults who go out of their way to help them, have no regard for the rules, and will do whatever they want just for the thrill. Bryan is nothing like that. He doesn't enjoy any of his wrongful actions and for the most part he follows the rules. All he wants is to be loved. He clearly isn't perfect. He takes a rabbit home when he knows his father won't allow it and attempts to hide it. He does this however, because he loves the rabbit. He clearly had no intention of killing it. His father told him to "get rid of it" and he had no other place to bring it. He knew his father would get mad and probably hit him again if he brought it home, so what choice did he have? It makes even less sense why the father got angry. He didn't care about the rabbit. If anything, he should be more concerned that his son killed a living thing that he loved. Bryan later tries to run away because he is unhappy at home. Who could blame him? His father even tells him to leave, which is another form of abuse. He claims he's tried everything with Bryan. All we've seen him do is yell, hit, and ignore Bryan. He didn't even try to do what his wife suggested.

Bryan only lies and breaks the rules because he is terrified of his father. No kid should feel unsafe in their own home. His mother did not support everything he did. She also got mad when he killed the rabbit. She just understood that Bryan wasn't in his rightful mind when he did it.

I agree with one thing that xfile1971 said. Ignoring serious family issues may bring about some horrible ends. This I blame both the parents for. Honestly, they should both be arrested. Not just for abusing their son, which by the way, as I mentioned earlier, the father hit Bryan twice in the first half of the movie. Their neglect and abuse of one kid led to the other kid's death. I'm not saying Bryan is not to blame at all for this. He needs to be sent to a mental institution and seek serious help. There is still a chance for him to be fixed. What Bryan can will never get passed is the fact that he killed his brother. I feel the worst for Bryan in this outcome because even if he gets help, he'll never be able to live with himself. He clearly has a conscience and was even shown to care about Keith at some point.

I would also like to speak for Keith. How did he get involved in all of this. I can't recall him doing anything wrong, yet he is the target of his brother's anger. Keith is described as spoiled, but I don't see that all. He is treated differently, but that is to no fault of his own. I would even consider that a form of abuse from his father. Keith infact seems to care for his brother more than his parents. He tries to protect him from bullies, shows concern to his injury, offers him emotional support, and even tries to help him hide the rabbit. Keith always tries to do the right thing, even when it might get him in trouble. In return, Bryan physically abuses him and eventually kills him. poor Keith. Sure he could be annoying at times, but what siblings aren't? He sometimes unintentionally made his brother feel bad, as opposed to the father, whose actions were very intentional. He tried talking to his brother when he wanted to be left alone, but how would he know this? He's 9. He tells on Bryan for throwing a ball at him. Can Bryan really blame him for that? He threatens to tell his parents about Bryan's behavior, only because he is concerned about Bryan. He tells his father about the rabbit only because he is more terrified of his father than Bryan. Honestly, Keith is almost a saint.

In conclusion, nobody is perfect. Everyone in this family made some mistakes. But the father is by no doubt one of the most horrible people ever and deserves to die. I don't know how much of this story is real, but I really hope Bryan has gotten the help he needs and his father is serving a life sentence.