Interesting first line

"Mom and me versus you and Dad."

Pretty much sums up the whole thrust of the movie. Frank and his Oedipal issues keep him tied to mommy, while Walt idolizes his father as his example of manhood. Divided along those lines, the family clashes again and again throughout the movie.

Also interesting how adeptly the film documents the gradual unraveling of that initial premise following the parents' split, when everyone stops keeping up appearances. Now each member of the family is allowed to see the ugliness that lies behind their preconceptions and idealizations of the others and do their best to come to terms with those unpleasant new realities.

The viewer is almost a 5th member of the family, wrestling with these issues along with the rest of the family. Very interesting movie that one should watch a few times just to take it all in.