People Like Us

A salesman deep in debt goes home for his father's funeral. The will leaves an envelope not to him but to a woman he did not know existed. He finds her and does not tell her who he is. The film carries all its tension on that unsaid sentence; instead of introducing a brother and sister, the narrative makes you wait for the moment she learns. Chris Pine and Elizabeth Banks lead, with Michelle Pfeiffer as the mother. It is the director's first film, and he has said it draws on something from his own family. Who it's for: those who like quiet family drama. Who it's not for: viewers who will find keeping the secret this long maddening; the narrative stretches it on purpose.