'Everybody's' terrific

In a world of Transformers and vampires, it can be such a pleasure to see a movie made with maturity, delicacy and heart.

“Everybody’s Fine” is a movie for grown-ups. It’s about real people and real situations, where what isn’t said is more important than what is.

Giuseppe Tornatore made the original film in Italian back in 1990; it was moving and affecting, but not the sort of thing you would ever expect to be remade in English. For one, where could they find an actor to replace its star, Marcello Mastroianni?

It turns out that the perfect choice is Robert De Niro. I know -- duh, right? But in recent years, De Niro has slipped too easily into caricature. Yet in the new version of “Everybody’s Fine,” he reminds us why he can still be the best actor in America. You never catch him acting here, not for a moment, and he seems to truly live the role.

De Niro’s acting here is so good because it does not seem like acting.

He plays Frank, a lonely widower of eight months. At the film’s beginning, he is eagerly anticipating a visit from his far-flung children. But they all cancel. So he decides to travel and make a surprise visit to each one.

Surprise visits are never a good idea. In movies, they tend to reveal uncomfortable truths about everyone concerned.

In the intelligent script of writer-director Kirk Jones (based closely on the intelligent script of the original), these revelations are not overly dramatic. They are believable, even likely, and spring organically from the characters. That’s where the maturity comes in.

Jones, who is British, previously made “Waking Ned Devine” and the wonderful “Nanny McPhee,” and he is clearly becoming a master of his craft. His delight in the majesty of the American West -- and even the tacky magnificence of Las Vegas -- is matched by his delight in working with capable actors. Here he draws emotional performances out of his strong supporting cast.

Like De Niro, Kate Beckinsale has been inconsistent of late, but she returns to form her as one daughter, a Chicago advertising executive. Sam Rockwell -- always an intriguing actor -- affectingly plays a son, the conductor of the Denver orchestra. And Drew Barrymore continues to impress as a successful dancer in Las Vegas.

Their shaded, careful acting makes it clear to us that their characters are lying to their father. But what makes the movie work so well is that it is clear to the father, too, though he never says a word.

One scene alone rings a false note, which only brings into perspective how perfect is the rest of the film. The climactic lunch scene, which takes place outdoors, is a victim of cinematic overkill -- Jones manipulates the color too much, he has too much going on cinematically. Even so, during the scene De Niro never wavers.

It’s a fine piece of acting in a compellingly bittersweet film. The other actors are fine, too, and so are the writer-director and the cinematographer. In fact, everybody’s fine.