"It's just, I'm not made like other people. Sometimes I feel like I'm not made for this life.”
Spoilers ahead...
Plot of The Son: About Depression and Mental Illness
Peter
(Hugh Jackman) is happy with his wife Beth (Vanessa Kirby) and their newborn
child Theo. Just then, his ex-wife Kate (Laura Dern) knocks at his door, giving
him news about his son Nicholas (Zen McGrath) who hasn't been himself for quite
a while. She recently discovered, thanks to a call from school, that he's been
skipping school for over a month. The rest of the story deals with acute
depression and mental illness, as Peter and Kate try to get Nicholas happy and
safe.
Florian Zeller Couldn’t Repeat His Last Film Heroics
Florian Zeller last directed The Father, which was a complex and very
horror-like look at dementia in old age, where as a viewer, we never knew if
what we saw was real or just an imagination from an excellent Anthony Hopkins.
'The Son,' however, is much simpler, at least on the surface, and is a lot more
dramatic, trying to get your emotional support rather than building it
organically. And that's where this film disappoints.
There's a
lot going on, which is why it's still a decent watch. We have worrying parents
who want their son to get well, yet many times they are not able to see the red
flags or how easily they get manipulated to believe what their son tells them.
I don't know if I should call this bad writing or if its part of parental challenges.
Two Key Scenes Highlight Writing Flaws in The Son
Two scenes made me very surprised. One is when Nicholas joins a new school
mid-semester, and Peter doesn't care to secretly follow Nicholas for at least a
few days, if not a week, because surely it would cross his mind, 'What if my
son is again skipping? So, why not confirm it?' The other one is where Peter
and Kate make a huge decision to bring Nicholas back home rather than getting
him the psychiatric treatment his current condition demands. Why on earth would
they leave a gun in the bathroom? In fact, any parent would ideally go home and
remove all pointy things like knives or anything that can help him kill
himself, way out of his reach. Totally hard to believe any caring parent of a
teenage son suffering from depression would make such a blunder.
Missed Opportunity: The Son Fails to Capture Nicholas's Perspective
These few
mistakes could have been ignored if we were shown more of what Nicholas felt he
was going through. Instead, we just keep getting scenes where he says the
lines, 'I am in pain.' In the last film, 'The Father,' the narrative was
excellent because it was told from the point of view of Anthony Hopkins, whom
we could never trust, yet many times we felt bad for him. There was always a
contradictory feeling all the time. How different 'The Son' would have been if
it was told from Nicholas's point of view throughout making it a great psychological
thriller. All the scenes of Peter's workplace didn't really add much to the
narrative apart from showing how distant he was from Nicholas in this serious
phase. It would have been good to see what was cooking inside Nicholas's head
at a few occasions or show some of his walks when he skips school. Just saying
this person is suffering from depression isn't enough.
Hugh Jackman, Vanessa Kirby, and Laura Dern Deliver Likeable Performances
What does
work for me is the use of flashbacks from a trip when Peter, Kate, and Nicholas
were very happy. We can see how Peter feels guilty that maybe it's his fault
that Nicholas has changed so much now. His divorce had a deep effect on his
son, and he is unable to do anything now. Hugh Jackman excels in the role
despite the writing team not giving him enough to shine through; he still
brings out a desperate father who wants Nicholas to be fine but time and again
brings out the parenting he himself received (interestingly, Anthony Hopkins
plays his dad in a very well-done one scene they have) by making Nicholas go
through questions he doesn't want to be asked.
Both
Vanessa Kirby and Laura Dern are pretty good too. You can feel Beth is trying
her best in the challenging conditions, and she's brave to directly say to
Peter that Nicholas's headspace isn't right and not someone who should be
trusted. To be honest, I felt that if Beth was the mother of Nicholas, maybe
she would have been a lot more careful. The 'Death can wait' scene is
emotional; it did get to me, and for a moment, I believed that maybe it's real
and they did save Nicholas.
Verdict on The Son
Overall, The Son, boasting of a
great cast and the director that gave us the wonderful ‘The Father,’ doesn't
live up to the expectations.
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