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.
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.
Tell Your Friends