Movies set in games are not something filmmakers have experimented much in the past. The Jumanji film series and Ready Player One are some of the only examples of lighthearted cinemas set inside a game. Family Pack, a French Netflix original, is yet another addition to this genre. Directed by François Uzan, the film is about a family that time travels into a game set in 15th-century France and has to find a way out.
Spoiler Alert
What was the story of a man in the wolfskin?
Family Pack begins with Jerome, a father of three children, explaining the game ‘Werewolves’ to his family, including his aging father Gilbert. Gilbert, however, was having trouble remembering things around him as he was suffering from dementia. Jerome was married to Marie, and both had children from their previous marriages. Clara was Jerome’s daughter, while Theo was Marie’s son from her previous relationship. Louise was the youngest one, their daughter together. Jerome allotted characters to his family, and all of them were supposed to find the identity of the werewolves being set loose by a man in wolfskin clothing in the game. Jerome was ‘the seer,’ Clara was ‘the little girl,’ Theo was ‘the thief,’ Gilbert was ‘the hunter,’ and Marie was ‘the witch’ initially.
Did Jerome and family get inside the game?
Jerome realized his family was not as interested in the game as he was. He placed the cards assigned to the family back in the board game box and, on closing it the ground started shaking. Once the earthquake ceased, all of them came out of the home to notice it looked smaller. On walking around the town, Theo concluded they had time-traveled. The family was a witness to a 15th-century style execution and came across the tale of werewolves attacking the village of ‘Miller’s Hollow.’ Jerome was quick to conclude all of them were in the game ‘Werewolves.’
On reaching their home, which had turned into a medieval-style cottage, Jerome realized his family was now supposed to find the identities of the werewolves on the loose to win the game. Jerome was the seer who could read minds; Theo was the thief who could steal the identities of anyone; and Gilbert was the hunter who’d gained immense strength. Marie and Louise’s roles in the game were not revealed. Jerome’s older daughter Clara was nowhere to be seen, and everyone assumed she’d disappeared. Clara, however, is shown as an invisible entity, ‘the little girl’ from the game who could not speak. Jerome’s ability to read minds helps him convey what Clara is trying to say.
Was their daughter a wolf?
One night, as Clara explores the town at nightfall, she is a witness to the werewolves roaming around the town, who almost catch her. On reaching home, an alarmed Jerome conveyed everything she witnessed by reading her mind. Their youngest daughter, Louise, was nowhere to be found. Soon she knocked on the door and claimed she’d gone out to use the bathroom. Jerome and the family were worried that she was the werewolf. On hearing the noise made by werewolves out on the streets, Louise turned into a tiny werewolf and tried to attack her family. She was eventually tied up and the family waited till dawn for her to turn into herself.
How did Marie plan to get them out of the game?
Marie had a plan in hand, which was to seek out Jerome’s ancestor, who was in the town. This part was confusing because they were in a game and it didn’t make sense that his real-life ancestor would be around. Theo wanted to utilize the role of “the thief” and stole the wristband of a blacksmith. He realized his power lay in turning into anyone by wearing something they owned. Theo turned into a blacksmith by wearing the wristband and wanted to help his mother find Jerome’s ancestor. Jerome, on the other hand, had become famous for his singing and guitar playing skills. He was gaining the attention of many women from the town, which Marie was comfortable with. Marie used Theo’s help as he turned into a prison guard to get in touch with Childeric Vassier. Childeric claimed he knew nothing about the game “Werewolves,” and he was awaiting execution for being a magician.
Who helped Clara get the skin?
The family runs into a neighbor named Piero who claims to have known Childeric. Piero was an artist who moved from Florence to France. Jerome was able to read his mind and deduce that Piero had a crush on him. Since Jerome and his family were from the future, they did not have a hard time accepting Piero’s sexuality. Piero got friendly with Jerome and his family. He excitedly explained the process of making natural rubber as this material was new to the medieval ages. He suggested an invisible Clara could find a physical form if she dipped herself in the natural rubber. Piero was finally successful in helping her, and Clara finally was given a human form. Piero soon became a close collaborator of Jerome and his family and was willing to help them win the game of ‘Werewolves.’
Was one of the werewolves killed?
Louise was always given something to stuff her ears up with to avoid her transformation into a werewolf post-sundown. One evening, Jerome’s family along with the whole town were at the town square to witness the execution of a woman who was deemed the monster, aka a werewolf. The woman claimed she wasn’t one. The sun soon set, and the execution of the woman got delayed by a few seconds when everyone heard a wolf cry. The woman on death row soon transformed into a werewolf herself, which created chaos. As other werewolves also joined to attack the villagers, the sheriff of the town took up a bow and arrow and killed the woman who transformed. One werewolf was hence killed, but not by Jerome or his family. However, on the death of the werewolf, they got hold of the card to be placed on the board game. There were some werewolves to be killed for Jerome and his family to end the game.
Did the family locate the other werewolf?
Louise then turned into a tiny werewolf as a result and was nowhere to be found. Jerome tried to look for her, but in vain. Clara brought her sister back, and she was tied up in the cottage. Clara pointed out certain physical aspects of Louise’s werewolf version that were very human-like and would help the family to locate her. Similarly, they would have to remember the human traits they witnessed in the other werewolves, who paraded themselves as normal human beings during the daytime. Clara claimed to have noticed someone with white hair, and the family began their search. Amidst all of this, Gilbert was battling memory issues. He began by writing things down based on what he remembered to make their stay in this 15th century town memorable. Gilbert was finally coming to terms with his reality, which was a good sign. Jerome, Theo, Clara, and Gilbert were unable to locate the person with white hair who they believed was one of the werewolves.
Why was Marie being considered a witch?
Marie, in her pursuit for the human/werewolf, ran into a woman who inadvertently revealed she was abused by her husband regularly. Since this was the medieval era, mistreating and disrespecting your partner was the norm, and Marie, as a lawyer, took offense to that. On confronting the woman’s husband and not paying attention to the fact she was in the medieval era, Marie showcased her writing skills to the villagers, which they were horrified to witness. Since the game was set in the 15th century, any new skill women picked up back then was considered witchcraft. The men from the town could not bear the sight of Marie writing and branded her as a witch.
Who helped keep Marie from getting executed?
In no time, Childeric, along with Marie, was brought to the town square, and the sheriff was also present to announce the execution and the reason behind it. Jerome had a eureka moment when he picked up his guitar and distracted the audience with his singing skills. The distraction helped Clara to become invisible and helped Marie and Childeric to escape execution. The crowd and the sheriff were quick to notice Jerome had helped the culprits escape, and he was out of town in no time.
Who stopped Jerome and his family from killing the werewolf?
Piero helped in locating the church, which had a vault and a code that would allow Jerome and his family to win the game. Jerome and his family were at the church in no time and were keen to end the game as everyone was exhausted. Clara was quick to locate the portal and put in the code given by Piero in the hope that it would be the end. Within seconds, the werewolf appeared as a last resort to save itself and kill the rest of them.
As Jerome, Gilbert, Marie, Theo, and Clara came forward to kill the werewolf, Louise was whisked away to a corner with her headphones on to avoid her transformation. As the family was close to killing the werewolf, the sheriff from the town showed up to save the monster. The werewolf turned out to be his wife, and he claimed they were connected through Cupid’s curse. This proved the sheriff, and his wife were players in the game as well. Since the rules of the game were not explained well, there was a lack of clarity on what the idea behind saving the werewolf was. The lack of proper understanding caused a mess, and the story suddenly relied on saving Jerome’s family.
Was Louise dead or alive?
Louise showed up with her headphones removed, immediately transformed into a werewolf at the sound of the beast, and began to hurt her family members. Such was the nature of the werewolf in the game. Marie and Jerome calmed her down by singing a song that we presume was her favorite growing up. By singing that song, they were appealing to the human version of her behind that werewolf body. The whole point of this move was to make sure Louise would not kill her family, as she wouldn’t be able to live with it. Jerome and the family also had decided they would not kill their daughter. Call it suspension of disbelief because this is a fantasy fiction movie; the song worked on Louise, and she attacked the werewolf. Sadly, the big monster was too strong and threw her away. Louise had died as they found the card that needed to be placed on the board game. Jerome was not sure how to digest the sight in front of them when Marie gathered all her magical powers and killed the bigger werewolf. This was the moment Marie was revealed to be “the witch” from the board game. Her powers had not manifested, and so far, she’d not been very helpful, keeping in mind the rest of the family’s power had shown up. Jerome was shocked but relieved that she gathered all her power at once to save their daughter. She killed the werewolf by magically drawing the life out of it and transferring it into Louise’s body. Marie finally came onto her own to save her daughter, as so far she was the subject of ridicule. With her showing up to save Louise was a big step, and the family was elated.
Did the family get out of the game?
With enough werewolf death in their hands, Jerome and his family were out of the game by placing the cards on the board. The number of werewolves shown at the beginning of the movie was different from what was shown in the end, for only two were identified and killed.
Family Pack ended with Jerome and his family planning to place all the cards on the wooden board game. Moments before that, Jerome was offering his farewell to his ancestor, and he learned Piero was fascinated by Jerome. Piero’s experience was an example of how tough life was for the queer community in medieval times. Piero liked Jerome because the man came from an era where there was no taboo on homosexuality. Piero claims Jerome inspired him to go back to Florence and commence his life as an artist. Not sure what exactly Jerome did to excite or inspire Piero, but the makers had to make him the hero of the film. Piero revealed his full name as Leonardo Piero da Vinci, which shocked Jerome. Jerome asked his ancestor to buy his paintings since he knew that in the future Leonardo da Vinci would be revered.
The last bit of the film had the family coming back to their reality excited to have finally won the game. Even though there were plot holes and loopholes, the family’s win was a big deal. The letter written by Gilbert to his son stated he was trying to write everything down as his way of preserving things for Jerome after he was gone. The father and son were finally bonding. Days later, the family visited the Louvre, only to find the Mona Lisa displayed with hints of Jerome’s facial features in the painting. This was a hilarious scenario, yet the issue is the family did not actually time travel. They were just inside a game. How did that change the past and their present scenario? This was not explained well by the makers. The movie, however, ended on a happy note, especially for Jerome.
