A Family Thing 1996

Overview

A Family Thing is a 1996 American Southern Gothic comedy-drama film directed by Richard Pearce and written by Billy Bob Thornton and Tom Epperson. The film was released in the United States on March 29, 1996. The story follows Earl Pilcher Jr., who runs an equipment rental outfit in Arkansas, lives with his wife, kids, and parents, and rarely takes off his gimme cap. After his mother dies, she leaves behind a letter explaining that he is not her natural son, but the son of a Black woman who died in childbirth. The letter also reveals that he has a half brother named Ray in Chicago, whom she wants him to visit. Earl makes the trip to Chicago, where he initially receives a cold welcome from Ray and Ray's son, Virgil. However, his birth mother's sister, an aged and blind matriarch known as Aunt T., takes Earl in tow and insists that the family open up to him.