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First time writer/director Bart Freundlich finds comedy and pathos in the edgy moments that break out unexpectedly between family members, cracking the fragile veneer of family life.

Freundlich explores the family reunion of four adult children, Warren (Noah Wyle), Mia (Julianne Moore), Jake (Michael Vartan) and Leigh (Laurel Holloman) with their brooding, self-absorbed father (Roy Scheider) and gentle, loving mother (Blythe Danner). This is first gathering in three years, and each sibling returns home in a unique manner. In an atmosphere of forced holiday togetherness, the group must face its hidden truths.

For some unknown, unexplained and unexpected reason, an indifferent Warren comes home a day earlier than planned. His father, unprepared to see his son, is visibly upset to the point that his wife, the peacekeeper of the family, must labor to comfort him as best she can.

Leigh is the next to arrive back home. As she waits at the train station for her sister Mia, we see two people having sex in their seats while the other passengers pretend not to notice. Yes, Mia and her boyfriend have arrived. Other than to provide some degree of humor, the point of this sex scene just isn't very clear.

Jake and his girlfriend find themselves a little distracted on their drive home. They, too, stop to have a little quickie, but they prefer the roadside. Fortunately, they're considerate enough to call home to say they will be a little late.

And so the children have come home. A little confused? Definitely.

As we get to know the characters, it gets easier to understand what they are doing and why.

Warren, for instance, clearly has unresolved issues with an ex-girlfriend from home. He thinks of her often and seems at once eager to see her and eager to avoid her as well. As the movie progresses, they work through some of the painful feelings which drove them apart.

Noah Wyle is strikingly attractive as he plays a sweet and morose Warren. It makes you want to be the one who will make him smile again.

As for Julianne Moore, she looks beautiful as ever but still makes you hate her. Her character, Mia, finds there is nothing she can't complain about. She whines about her home, chastises her boyfriend for trying to enjoy their vacation and screams at her father because he tears out the last page of a book he never read.

Mia may seem a little extreme, but her actions aren't as childish as they appear.

Don't get me wrong, though. This isn't a cheesy movie where Mia experiences significant epiphanies about herself and undergoes a radical personality change. She learns about herself slowly in a realistic manner. Because the change is subtle, Freundlich succeeds in making it more touching.

There is no obvious plot that is spoon-fed to the movie-goer, because the interactions between the characters themselves are fascinating. The issues they deal with are absorbing, because each one of the characters will remind you of someone you know.

Explaining the significance of the film's title, Freundlich said, "Fingerprints represent to me these people's identities: something that on the one hand is genetic, and thus inherited, and yet at the same time is completely unique."

His hope for this film is that "it will touch you and trigger some thought." Watching the characters interact, I found that they moved me and indeed, reminded me of my family.

In this way, Freundlich has succeeded in creating a film that's not your normal mindless blockbuster.

This item appeared in the Arts & Entertainment section of the October 17, 1997 issue.