Like Father Like Son

This is a gripping psychological thriller with plenty of twists and turns.There a number of impressive performances from Tara Fitzgerald (as the Detective Inspector),Jemma Redgrave(as the harassed mother), Robson Green (as the kindly school teacher, who finds himself fighting for both his career and reputation,due to the actions of others), Phil Davis (as the boy's imprisoned father) and the young boy who when faced by constant bullying and prejudice, feels compelled to make a stand. The screenplay and direction has been well handled. A young boy has been brought up in total ignorance of his origins with devastating consequences. It transpires that several people have been carrying long harboured secrets, which begin to unravel following the unexpected sequence of events. There are some powerful scenes such as the classroom debate by the provocative schoolgirl with her espousal of William Shakespeare's play "Othello" and when she corners her teacher following the end of the lesson by making an unexpected pass at him. There some vivid scenes as the girl is followed into the woods.

I think that the one true star of Like Father Like son was the director Nick Laughland.

He is an inspiring man and this drama really shows how much his talent should be recognised and awarded. His ability to bring the best out of all the actors involved and create a magical environment where all the stories came together is truly a remarkable achievement. This alone shows a man of true talent and although jam packed with stars he shone the brightest.

With his ideas and knowledge and commendable vision he alone created a masterpiece!

I am very much looking forward to another.

I thought this was quite an amazing production with many insights into the human condition. It was a very fair and brave attempt to show the importance of the family and how in the end true love wins the day. It is also a gripping thriller. While it was a little edgy at times this film had many deep insights. The son looks for an ideal father but his real father is a killer. The teacher is falsely accused, but makes a stand. The desire of the children is for that ideal family we all want. The mother battles to save her son - it's the classic struggle between the forces of evil and good. This is a brave movie because it doesn't fall prey to political correctness. It could also be used as an educational tool to show that the desire of us all is for a stable family, the very building block of a healthy society.

This program had everything going for it: a great cast, good production values, a good story line, but what it didn't have a good director and perhaps not a well-crafted screenplay. It plays more like an overwrought soap opera than a tense thriller. Emotions are overplayed and characters make unbelievable decisions in order keep the contrived tension going. I was disappointed. It could have been so much better with a better director and screenplay. And I had a pretty good idea whodunnit fairly early in the story.

British television programs are way more interesting than average American fare. They tackle much more believable topics and have much better actors. British actors have superior acting skills, and look like real people. American actors look like actors, it is impossible to relate to plastic people. This patticural movie doesn't belong to the top of British TV production. The script tries very hard to outsmart itself, so in return becomes completely contrived. The people are real, but the situation they are supposed to convey is not, hence the problem. If you are able to get over the imperfections and occasional messiness of the script, you will be entertained, but not much more.