Not Our Son

Wow, what a great movie

Although the story was very simple, and the action/ fire scenes were nothing special it was still a very easy going movie, and genuinely made me cry

There was no forced humour or sub plots, This was a gritty And very realistic movie

Neil Harris and Gerald raney were both amazing, And were very believable as father and son

The rest of the cast however were shockingly bad, especially the mother and daughter

One thing I didn't like about the movie was the cheesy music they played during the car chases, this really bought the tone of the movie down

Another thing is the movie felt very rushed,I would have loved to seen more of a build up to the movie, We knew almost nothing about the main character.

I am not familiar with the case, but this was a gripping account. Very well acted throughout, and very well written and directed. This story is as much about a family breakdown as it is about a dangerous criminal. I also liked it because on the face of it no one would suspect the culprit. This film dramatised the relationships and character of Paul Keller in a way that seemed realistic and also explained his actions to some extent, and left me feeling satisfied that the story had been well told. How truthful the dramatisation was I could not say, but it certainly seemed truthful - whether or not the details are accurate, it has dramatic truth.

In addition to the previous reviewer's comments, Keller was sexually molested by a firefighter between the ages of 12 and 19. This explains quite a lot about his motives and reasoning. This doesn't excuse him but does give us a lot of insight as to why he resorted to fire as a means of regaining "control" of his surroundings. Most arsonists use the destruction of fire as a means of asserting control that they lost at some point in their lives. Componding the fact that his abuser was employed to fight fire it seems even more "logical" that an individual whose emotional stability has been distorted would resort to setting fires. Keller was the one who was in control of when, how and where the destruction would occur. No one could figure out who he was and therefor couldn't stop him leaving him in total control of the situation. Though these kinds of individuals can't be excused for their actions, their psychology makes for a very intriguing story.

Based on a true story: In 1992 as Seattle is hit by a string of fires, and the police search for the arsonist dubbed "The Seattle Spectre". A family start to suspect one of their own.

As a Brit living in the UK, I knew nothing of the story, and what actually happened. I watched this Simply because it starred Neil Patrick Harris (Barney Stinson in 'How I Met Your Mother') who I had seen in several good made for TV movies based on true stories lately (Sudden Fury/A Family Torn Apart and Stranger In Our Family.

Gerald McRaney is superb as the tortured father, who suspects his son may be the arsonist, and Ari Meyers is also very good as the suspicious sister, and Cindy Pickett is OK as the mother struggling to see where it all went wrong. The rest of the supporting cast sadly leave a lot to be desired with some very dodgy acting.

But the star of the show here is Neil Patrick Harris. Once again he is superb, I've yet to see him in anything where he is less than brilliant. His performance as church going Paul Keller is nothing short of spectacular. His performance during the "last supper" scene is the best of the movie, although all the actors in that scene share the work load in the tension filled scene, it is NPH who lingers in the memory.

You just never know who is going to be a pyromaniac!! I thought Tom Verica's performance in this movie was sensational!! Neil Patrick Harris was the perennial misunderstood reprobate who resorted to pyromania as a hobby!! It is of course a sickness to be afflicted with such a lethal obsession!!! Tom Verica always plays the well mannered right side of the law...Currently, he is directing episodes of "Boston Legal" the talent is there.. Even on L.A. Law I thought Tom Verica was one of the best parts of the show!! When you think about it, Tom Verica is pretty sensational in basically every way!! Overall, "Not Our Son" evoked a social commentary which SPARKED!! (Pun intended) an identification with the serious illness of pyromania!! I enjoyed this made for T.V film very much and thought it served a very useful purpose!!