Family Business

In the exuberant style of The Pope of Greenwich Village, Patrick explores the volatile relationship among three New Yorkers whose irreconcilable moral codes wedge them apart. Adam McMullen, his father Vito, and Vito's father Jessie share affection, plus an oddly mixed heritagethey are part Cherokee Indian, Irish, Jewish, and Italianbut their differences at times seem overwhelming. Adam had disappointed Vito by abandoning college for a nomadic lifestyle, and Vito is also piqued by Adam's idolization of his grandfather. An adept hustler and former bank robber, Jessie blithely violates the law whenever it seems expedient. Vito, an ex-burglar himself, openly deplores his father's criminality. When Adam and Jessie start collaborating on a lucrative heist, Vito bristles, but he participates out of boredom and a desire to safeguard Adam. Unfortunately, the caper turns into a nightmarish debacle that threatens to destroy the trio's fragile truce forever. Patrick deftly intersperses uproarious humor with memorable dramatic scenes. Foreign rights: William Morris. October 30