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The Fishers are your typical dysfunctional family. Ruth
is the stern matriarch who has trouble expressing emotion and
snaps at the slightest problem. Daughter Claire is an
underachiever who cultivates a moody, mysterious loner image in high school
(she's indulging in illegal substances too). Brother David
works in the family business and is uptight beyond belief (he's indulging in a
secret homosexual relationship too). Elder brother Nate is the black sheep, who,
eschewing responsibility, fled to Seattle but got lured back. And Dad watches it all bemusedly. Did we mention Dad's dead?
Oh, and that the Fisher family business is a funeral home? It might sound
off-putting, but coming from the mind of Alan Ball, the man who strip-mined
suburban life to find the mordant wit underneath in American Beauty,
Six Feet Under is a trenchant, stylish spin on standard family
dysfunction. |
