by florian zeller drama 2020 The father it is a moving tsunami that consumes everything in its path. The son it acts as a companion and follow-up piece, but falls short of its predecessor. the movieThe central concept struggles with its undeniably difficult theme in a number of ways, but pins its emotional crescendo to a manipulative center that lacks sincerity.
‘El Hijo’ finds a broken family trying to rebuild their lives
Peter (Hugh Jackman) is a busy professional with a demanding career with the potential for new opportunities that he has worked hard for over the years. He juggles these duties with his personal life with his new partner, Beth (vanessa kirby), and her newborn baby. However, their seemingly controlled lives are thrown into chaos when Peter’s ex-wife Kate (laura dern), asks her to help him with his increasingly difficult teenage son, Nicholas (Zen McGrath).
The teen and Kate grapple with their attempts to connect, but ultimately get nowhere. As a result, Nicholas moves in with Peter and Beth, but his problems continue to simmer beneath the surface of a thin veil of normality. Trauma from the past looms over every aspect of the young man’s life as he reflects on how his family fell apart.
The fatherhood cycle
Screenwriters Zeller and Christopher Hampton weave together multiple complicated character dynamics throughout The son, which is based on Zeller’s play of the same name. Nicholas’s depression is the catalyst that forces him to face his confusion with Peter, Beth and Kate, but no one can adequately communicate his feelings with each other. Zeller and Hampton progressively tease the history of these relationships, increasingly presenting the reason why they ended where they ended.
The inability of adults to express their own insecurities and doubts becomes alarming through Nicholas’s depression. He deeply feels and longs to connect, but is completely deprived of the ability to communicate or understand his own experiences with mental illness. It’s an undeniably frustrating display that continues to escalate. Nicholas remains the constant topic of discussion, but the adults’ lack of control over the world around them is no less important here.
Given the title of The son, it is not surprising that there is a clear focus on the relationship between parents and children. However, it comes down even more to the connection of parents with their children. Peter has his own open wounds from his own father’s, but the full extent of his family life isn’t fully shown. Rather, they are reflected in how Peter reaches out to Nicholas, perpetuating a seemingly endless cycle of neglect and harm. There is a theme of how running away from one’s problems causes his greatest fears and insecurities, exploding in a catastrophic domino effect.
‘El Hijo’ is a sagacious drama without bite
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Zeller implemented a visually dizzying experience in The father which played beautifully into his storytelling. Meanwhile, capture The son from a much more direct lens. The story is based on the perspective of Peter, who chooses the unconscious point of view of a father over that of Nicholas, and tells the story of a man caught between the horrors of being a son and a father. The direction often feels like a play, without fully finding a way to use the cinematic medium to tell its narrative differently.
However, Zeller still gets impressive performances from most of the cast. Jackman digs deeper, succeeding mostly in the film’s quiet moments of sadness. Some of his great moments dabble in overacting that lacks the sincerity of more introspective scenes. Meanwhile, Dern is completely empathetic, elevating Kate from what’s written on the page to the most moving character in the film. Likewise, Kirby is exquisite as Beth, offering layers that peek into a world outside of the original family triad. McGrath works with a less likable character in Nicholas, but he’s the notable weak link between the powerhouses.
The son he has a compelling statement to make about the connection between love and depression, but it fades into a tiresomely false affair. Zeller leaves out the most fascinating pieces of the film’s puzzle, which are the women in Peter and Nicholas’ lives, as well as Peter’s father. What we are left with is a histrionic narrative that is nothing we haven’t seen before.
The son hits theaters in Los Angeles and New York on November 25 and expands on December 16.
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