The Whore's Son

It's reasonable, of course, for a teenager to misunderstand his mother. But The Whore's Son doesn't comprehend her any better than her son does.

Tale of mother worship nicely sets its protags within multiple contexts as outsiders, but is kept from taking off by poor motivations and a nagging naivete in the over-innocent title character.

Despite a contrived creakiness in the plot, a climax all too broadly hinted at in the opening scene and the occasional dive into blowzy-hooker clich, some characters are nicely observed.

The slicing camerawork of Fassbinder/Haneke collaborator Jurgen Jurges underscores the bitter message: We don't always know what we want from our parents, only what we're not getting.

The story should have been allowed to unfold naturally, from start to finish, without disclosing where it was headed right from the get-go.

... a low-key Austrian drama that, as the title hints, dusts off Coming of Age Plot No. 16C, with modestly entertaining results.

While poignant in the extreme, never stoops to easy sentimentality or sensationalism.

Sturminger never seems to be quite sure what his film is about ...

Being in the company of Usein's and Lisnic's slow-minded, one-note character for most of the movie, we're strained to develop the sympathy level that would make for a touching or perceptive study.

Strong performances aren't enough to flesh out an underdeveloped script that leaves far too many questions unanswered.