The Son

It is not a great movie, but it does tackle an issue that needs to be addressed. My problem is the parents. They act clueless and assume there had to be trauma. I don't believe parents would be that ignorant today. I do like how it exposes self absorbed parents who put work and everything else in front of their families. That is a problem that also needs to be addressed. Not a terrible movie, but not great. I thought the teen actor did a great job.

Tough and hard familiar drama that could have benefited from a better casting in the role of the son; someone more convincing ot that at least knew how to act

As a father of a son, I found it quite moving.

The acting, script and emotions are true and spot on. Critics that want to run (hide) from the movie or believe it doesn’t display a type of mental illness and a family’s reaction to it indicates they never experienced or watched others go through the type of experience accurately portrayed in this movie.

As someone who has seen the suffering of depression first hand, this movie is spot on with the overwhelmingness of it...as well as the ignorance and dismissal of it by those close that cannot understand. Zen McGrath did an amazing job in his role!

Perfect example of how broken homes, both parents working and not actually "knowing" their child is becoming the norm and it has devastating effects. The acting is nothing to write home about but the overall message to parents is what the focus should be on.

I enjoyed this film. I am not sure what was better, the acting or cinematography. Beautifully shot and well acted, the cast all played their parts well and believable. I think that this topic of mental illness comes in all shapes and sizes and should engage us more.

The Son is an overwrought and overly histrionic film that overstays its welcome. Florian Zeller is a celebrated French playwright and filmmaker and this is based on one of his plays. I guess it's a spiritual successor to The Father, but that film was subtle and deeply resonant. This film starts with promise but doesn't finish the job. Peter is a successful New York lawyer. He is divorced from Kate, who lives with their teenage son Nicholas. Peter is now in a relationship with Beth and they have just had a baby. Everyone's lives are turned upside down when Nicholas is continually absent from school. He comes to live with Peter but he suffers from depression and circumstances just go from bad to worse. This should be a good film about fatherhood and mental health but it's bogged down by an overwrought script and simplistic plotting. Performances are reasonable but I feel Hugh Jackman doesn't quite have the chops to play this sort of role. Zeller is more than capable of making a fine film, but it's not on display here.

It addresses a dark and real life subject matter which promises a rewarding story yet the substance ends there. Suggesting depression is predominantly random does not fulfil an arc, it is as superficial as it is tragic. I would at least applaud confronting the unpopular truth however it made light of it in rejecting any intricacies or morals that shape the relationships.

I like the messages in the film: 1.) Kids basically need healthy parents in an intact home from birth until 18. 2.) The damage splitting up a home takes on youth especially when they are suffering a crisis while shuffling between 2 homes--the parents will have extraordinary difficulties working together for the child's sake. 3.) The guilt parents feel following a divorce makes for some very poor decision-making in the name of making the child "happy" (as immediate gratification) rather than responsible decision-making unmarred by "guilt." Unfortunately, the subject-matter of the film is rather solemn and the characters are quite annoying and even a little stupid at times, but ain't that the way life realistically is? Hmm...