Junebug (2005)

Almost every turn that this film takes deepens its plot and develops its characters, right up to the very enigmatic last sentence. The cosmopolitan Madeleine, who grew up in a diplomatic family traveling the world, travels to rural North Carolina in an attempt to sign an eccentric artist to her Chicago gallery. North Carolina is also the family home of her husband George. There are plenty of laughs as Madeleine meets George's family, but also plenty of poignancy as family dynamics, roles, eccentricities, and cultures clash. The film and its characters walk a thin line between suspicion of the outsider, elitist condescension at the local yokels, and a mutual, growing, and genuine admiration for each other. It is very easy to love every character in this film despite their many "issues." I grew up in North Carolina, have traveled in forty countries, and I will say this: this film is spot on.