Ariel Perelman (Hendler) has made a good, meandering life for himself. He teaches law while also practicing it. In the marble hallways and staircases of the courthouse, it is Ariel's father, Perelman Sr. (a sublime Goetz), who has become a legend of sorts. His clients sometimes pay for his work in meals or services, and he's flirty enough to be able to cut in the morning file line without anyone blinking.
Everything changes, quite quickly. Perelman Jr. marries Sandra (Diaz), and they immediately have a child, Gaston (Eloy Burman, the director's son). At the same time, Perelman Sr. starts becoming more philosophical with his son, as well as more demanding of time with him. Perelman Jr. doesn't quite understand why, but it's rather obvious to anyone watching.
Burman comes to the idea of fatherhood with a rather plain but still strangely insightful style. Comparisons to Woody Allen and James L. Brooks will no doubt be made—he shares their interest in father figures and family dynamics. However, Allen is too cynical and Brooks is too expansive to fit the confines of what Burman is doing here; his themes are clear-cut, and his points ring true from the first bell.
Hendler breathes sincere life into a character who could have easily been just another whoops-I-brought-our-kid-to-the-strip-club buffoon. Instead, we see Perelman Jr. as absent-minded, perhaps, but also as a man with genuine love for his family and his father. Quoting Francois Truffaut, Burman expresses that one of the most important moments in a man's life is when he realizes his children are more important than his parents. That is exactly what is going on in Family Law: the transference of emotional weight between generations, stocked with all its melodramatic complications. And Burman seems to have that rare ability to infuse melodrama with purpose and honesty.