jz-10

The Son is more of a Greek drama. Everything interesting that happens in the story happens off-screen. This would be less objectionable in the original play it was adapted from, but in almost every important scene in the film, characters are talking about something previous which we didn't see--an argument the night before, a phone call in the morning, an email, a job offer, and more (much more).

Even worse is amateurish writing forgetting what a character actually experienced being forgotten in the next scene. An example is Nicholas' father talking about having seen scars on his son's arm the day before in a short, rare visit. We saw this visit--Nicholas was wearing a hoodie with long sleeves throughout--how did his father see his arm? The filmmaker seems to have forgotten how he filmed the previous scene!

Other inconsistencies abound. Many have commented on McGrath's performance, but that is not where the blame lies. McGrath has potential, but needs much better direction to bring it out.

The script is tedious and ham-fisted, the characters not fully engaging, the cinematography awkwardly lit, and I'll say it again--everything interesting happens off-screen.

The one thing that is to the credit of the film is dealing with the issue of denial in mental illness. That is brought home strongly. Awkwardly, almost amateurishly, but strongly.

There is one short here which won't make you want to slit your wrists after seeing it, On the Roof is a thoroughly decent coming-of-age short about difficulty of navigating a dangerous situation wisely.

The Son is dismal, violent, and unbearably depraved. Tomboy deals with a deadly game. Bullying is the theme of Paradigm. And I can't remember what one of these stories was about.

If you want to have a relaxing, enjoyable evening, these are not the movies for you! Hit Stop after On the Roof. Not knowing what you missed is better than knowing, believe me.

The coming-of-age film in a mostly natural setting can work, and work beautifully. Think Stand By Me, The Tree of Life, or Hide Your Smiling Faces. This is not one of those. The previous reviewer, who said "there is no story" was not exaggerating. There is NOTHING here, except beautiful photography, for which it gets the four stars.Not only is there no plot, there is no script. The film appears to be entirely improvised. I can only imagine the director told the young actors "Hang out by river, the woods, and the mall, and ignore the camera. Forget we're even here." That's it. What's more, there is so much potential for a story to break out in some scenes. The boys talk to two pretty girls in an amusement park. And cut. One boy is chased by some other kids. And cut.

The plot summary is completely false. There is no sense of time, no sense of change. I really did want to like this, but there is truly no "there" there.