The Son

Through the many years, Hollywood has attempted to address a very important societal issue of our time which is mental illness. There have been many films, "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", "It's Kind of a Funny Story", "Side Effects", even the most recent "The Whale" to mention a small handful, so when the film "The Son" was released, it gets even more 'in your face' about the topic. 

A cautionary tale that follows a family as it struggles to reunite after falling apart. This story centers on Peter (Hugh Jackman), whose hectic life with his infant and new partner Beth (Vanessa Kirby) is upended when his ex-wife Kate (Laura Dern) appears at his door to discuss their son Nicholas (Zen McGrath), who is now a teenager. The young man has been missing school for months and is now deeply troubled. Peter arrives to take care of Nicholas as he would have wanted his own father (Anthony Hopkins) to have taken care of him while juggling his and Beth's new son, and at work an offer of a dream position in Washington D.C. However, by reaching for the past to correct its mistakes, he loses sight of how to hold onto Nicholas in the present. 

Others to round out the cast are William Hope as Andrew, Hugh Quarshie as Psyche Doctor, Joseph Mydell as Brian, Akie Kotabe as Mr. Yama, Isaura Barbe-Brown as Sophia, Erick Hayden as Allan and Gretchen Egolf as E.R. Doctor.

This was directed with such soberness by Florian Zeller ("The Father" '20) plus TV. Considering his limited directing experience, he's either a natural or because this film is based on his play, he certainly knew of the different nuances of character development involved. These characters simply jumped out at the audience I'm sure purposely considering the the heavy-laden message this film carries. He will receive more work since the pacing and staging were spot on. It was equally well written by Christopher Hampton ("The Quiet American", '02, "Imagining Argentina" '02, "Atonement" '07, "Cheri" '09, "A Dangerous Method" (his play- "The Talking Cure") '20) plus TV, a play and an adaptation, and Florian Zeller ("Castle in Sweden" (TV movie) '08, "Le pere" (TV movie)'14, "Florida" '15, "The Father" '20) plus TV and a play, based on the play by Florian Zeller. Certainly these two writers have the experience in which to create a powerful message film which, as a society, we need to see more of. Things were explained well in how this troubled 17-year-old was reeling with such issues, except, it would've helped to find out in more of the detail of why he ended up with such a severe case of depression due to his parents' divorce. Other than that, this script was truly documented well. 

This film brings out the fact that until we address more thoroughly the mental health issues in this country, we will continue to see people killing others or themselves. I believe that society thinks that if we can just get rid of the guns, that everything will be solved, because that's a tangible approach. But because dealing with the mental health issues is so much more intangible, it's a tougher journey for people to grasp. The mental health situation is not going to go away if we continue to ignore it, and this intense story truly brings that to a head. 

Out out 4 Stars: 3.5                                      Rated: PG-13                                      123mins.