The Son - Film Review

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The Son is a poignant film directed by Florian Zeller that explores the complexities of family relationships and the lingering impacts of mental illness.



Nicholas (Zen McGrath) is unwell. His depression makes it a constant struggle to stay in school and he finds living with his mum, a suitably harrowed Laura Dern, stifling. Instead, he chooses to simply "walk around" much to the frustration of his high-achieving father Peter (Hugh Jackman), a successful businessman preoccupied with building a new life with his second wife Beth (with whom he cheated on his ex-wife) and their baby son Theo. Despite the growing estrangement between father and son and his own fractured relationship with his twisted father (Anthony Hopkins), Peter agrees to house his deeply troubled son.



Like the subject matter, The Son is a long and brooding affair with some incredibly powerful performances by Jackman and Dern and a foreboding score that adds to the overall bleak atmosphere of the film. Their guilt is tangible, as is Peter's hopes to be a good father to Nicholas despite his own childhood trauma. The sets are simple - from Peter's flat to the doctor's office where the couple receive the grim prognosis of their son's suicide attempt. Increasingly, the viewer is treated to closeups of the family's washing machine, a potential metaphor for the humdrum of everyday life which starkly contrasts to the volatility of Nicholas's mood swings.

We might not expect to see many light moments in this melodrama but there are a handful of tender moments; between Peter and an infant Nicholas on a family vacation by the seaside and Peter teaching his teen son how to to dance in their kitchen - that breathe life back into the narrative and keeps the audience engaged in Peter's journey.



The supporting cast is noticeably diverse and Vanessa Kirby and Anthony Hopkins are credible as Beth and Peter's father respectively. Overall, The Son is an emotional film that earnestly tries to tackle a difficult subject matter with sensitivity and grace. Although McGrath's portrayal of mental illness feels at times uneven, The Son is a cautionary tale for parents and recommended for fans of Hugh Jackman and the prequel The Father .





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