5 Things You Should Know Before Joining The Family

Excited to see The Family? Take a peek at this scoop on director Luc Besson's dark action-comedy

By Matt Stevens Sep 15, 2013 6:11 PMTags
The Family, 5 Things© 2012 EuropaCorp. Jessica Forde. TF1 Films Production. Grive Productions. All Rights Reserved.

We're the Millers…er…the Manzonis…er…the Blakes. In this dark action-comedy from director Luc Besson (Taken, Transporter), Mafia boss Giovanni Manzoni (Robert De Niro) enters the Witness Protection Program after ratting out his former mob associates. Adopting the name Fred Blake, he and his wife, Maggie (Michelle Pfeiffer), and two children (Dianna Agron, John D'Leo) relocate to a small, sleepy town in France.

FBI agent Robert Stansfield (Tommy Lee Jones) tries to keep the family in line and on the DL, but the Blakes blow their own cover with their violent criminal ways. Here's an offer you can't refuse—get more killer info about The Family:

© 2012 EuropaCorp. Jessica Forde. TF1 Films Production. Grive Productions. All Rights Reserved.

1. Déjà Vu All Over Again: The story may take place on the gentils avenues of France, not the mean streets of New York, but the actors are still treading familiar turf. De Niro plays yet another aging gangster, though this goodfella has writerly aspirations, plunking out his memoirs on an old dusty typewriter. Pfeiffer revisits her Brooklyn accent with a toned-down version of her Married to the Mob wife. And Jones again trades on his growly pit-bull persona, this time protecting the fugitive instead of pursuing him.

© 2012 EuropaCorp. TF1 Films Production. Grive Productions. All Rights Reserved.

2. Tea & Serendipity: A fan of the show Glee, Besson's daughter urged her dad to consider Agron (who plays cheerleader Quinn Fabray on the show) for the role of Belle Blake. Agron happened to be in Paris at the same time as Besson, so the two met for tea. After just a few minutes, the director knew Agron would be perfect for the part. However, finding the right person to play Belle's brother, Warren, proved trickier, and the filmmakers auditioned several young actors before finally casting D'Leo.

Getty Images: Foc Kan, Gilbert Carrasquillo

3. Gathering The Family Together: Besson and Michael Caleo (The Sopranos) co-wrote the screenplay based on Tonino Benacquista's novel Malavita. They added bits of dialogue throughout but made very few changes to the book's narrative structure, which might explain the movie's episodic feel. Besson didn't plan to direct but took the helm after De Niro, Pfeiffer and Jones signed on. Martin Scorsese also came onboard as executive producer, and a final-act joke pays tribute to Scorsese's long collaboration with De Niro.

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© 2012 EuropaCorp. Jessica Forde. TF1 Films Production. Grive Productions. All Rights Reserved.

4. There Will Be Blood: Lap it up, rage-aholics—The Family has all the vengeance-fueled violence you'd expect from a Luc Besson actioner! Maggie blows up a grocery store after the employees act snooty. Then Fred uses a baseball bat to pummel a dishonest plumber. The kids join in the bloodletting too! Warren hatches an elaborate plan to exact revenge on a few bullying seniors, and Belle shows a handsy classmate some "love" by beating him senseless with a tennis racket. Game over.

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© 2012 EuropaCorp. TF1 Films Production. Grive Productions. All Rights Reserved.

5. Storming Normandy: The Family filmed during the summer in Normandy, France, as well as at Besson's studio complex on the outskirts of Paris. The filmmakers found a tiny, untouched village for the location shoots, including a suitably tucked-away house for the Blakes. The actors enjoyed working in Normandy, far from the paparazzi, and dined together almost every night at an intimate restaurant, which helped them bond like, well, family.