Away We Go

A couple in their thirties are expecting a child and have no idea where to live. They decide to travel the country and look at how the people they know are living. Each stop shows another version of parenthood, and none of them is a model. The film plays the tour as comedy, but its real question is serious: where do two people who know nobody with a functioning family learn how to have one. Sam Mendes directed, from a script by Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida. It is markedly smaller and softer than his other work. Before watching: some of the episodes tip into caricature, and the sense that the leads look down on everyone they visit drew criticism. Go in expecting to notice it.