FULL SPOILER-FREE REVIEW @ https://www.msbreviews.com/movie-reviews/the-son-spoiler-free-review-lff-2022

"The Son is an emotionally devastating film with a shocking yet important cautionary message for all parents.

A gradually sadder, depressing, frustrating story that grips the audience through its tension-filled dialogue, but the lack of something new and impactful directly about those primarily affected by mental health issues could be an uncomfortable trigger for many viewers.

Hugh Jackman stands out with one of the best performances of his career in a genuinely powerful, tear-inducing display. Florian Zeller's movie will get an understandably divisive reception, but I definitely consider it a must-watch flick."

Rating: B+

Despite more experienced and lauded stars, this film only really belongs to the young Australian Zen McGrath in the title role. He is "Nicholas", a young man who lives with his divorcee mother (Laura Dern) while his father (Hugh Jackman) has a new family with "Beth" (Vanessa Kirby) and baby "Theo". His mother reaches the end of her tether when it transpires that the young man has been skipping school. She feels genuinely intimidated by him and so a move to dad's is soon on the cards. Settling in ok? Going to a new school? Well that's when we begin to spot signs that this lad has problems. Signs of self harm ring alarm bells and indicate a spiralling descent for "Nicholas" that perhaps only his father can arrest? The story is interesting, but the writing is frankly terrible and the acting from both Jackman and the always limited Dern is truly wooden. For such an emotive subject there is no sense of involvement; no personal touches - he is never to referred to as "Nick" or anything that might illustrate that there any intimate love here. It's all just a bit sterile with join-the-dot scenarios that accumulate towards an ending that serves no purpose at all. That's not to say it had to be all rose covered cottages, but the last twenty minutes really defy even the most devoted of parental logic before a rather abrupt denouement. It might offer a beginners guide to warning signs for parents, but otherwise this is a weakly constructed and frankly, rather implausible, drama that really disappoints.

In 2020 we had the film adaptation of the play The Father; In 2022, Christopher Hampton teamed up with Florian Zeller again for the film adaptation of the play The Son. [I wonder if this is their way of starting a family multiverse of movies with Anthony Hopkins acting]. The argument is wonderful: how the abandonment of a father to his family can cause deep and irreparable damage to a son, how this son cannot deal with those feelings because beyond the reason and the excuses that his father gives him, the emptiness is real. Hugh Jackman and Laura Dern are great performers and this time is no exception, both giving proper performances that make the family dynamic feel real. Vanessa Kirby and Anthony Hopkins in supporting roles are also good. The dialogues are great, the things that the son says both to his parents and to the father's new wife are arrows that go straight to the heart. However, Zen McGrath's performance as, precisely, the son, did not convince me; I felt it forced all the time, a not so genuine suffering, which made me not end up empathizing with him [And boy, do I have reasons to empathize with that character!]. In addition, the flashback scenes did not seem to me in the same tone as the movie, I noticed them disconnected. But the worst was the final scene that dares to play with our mind and emotions very cheaply. It's not a bad movie, but it doesn't quite measure up to The Father.