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Everyone jokes about the challenges of raising teenagers; they’re surly and demanding, and they leave a mess wherever they go. But for some teenagers, life is more of a struggle—and The Son explores the pain that it causes for parents as well as for their children.
The Son follows a pair of divorced parents as they try to work together to help their troubled son. Peter (Hugh Jackman) is a busy New York City lawyer with a wife and a new baby at home. He’s caught off-guard when his ex-wife, Kate (Laura Dern), shows up at his door to discuss her concerns about their teenage son, Nicholas (Zen McGrath), who’s been skipping school and behaving strangely. After talking with Nicholas, Peter agrees to let him move into their spare room. But the change brings new challenges in the relationship between father and son.
As Nicholas continues to struggle, viewers will see the worry and frustration that Peter and Kate endure. They remember the smiling, happy child that Nicholas once was, and they just don’t know how to help teenage Nicholas, who seems to fluctuate between anger and anxiety, who just can’t cope with everyday life. They fear for Nicholas, and they wrestle with their own feelings of guilt—that they haven’t handled things in the right way.
Though Kate certainly plays a part in the story, the focus is on the relationship between Peter and Nicholas—on the close relationship they once had when Peter and Kate were still together, on Peter’s struggle to communicate with his son, and on Peter’s difficult relationship with his own father (Anthony Hopkins), who cared more about his career than his family.
While viewers will understand the parents’ feelings of helplessness in the situation, though, they’ll struggle to connect with the characters. Zen McGrath’s Nicholas just doesn’t feel authentic—as though the actor doesn’t understand the character at all and he’s not sure how to play him. And it doesn’t help that the story has some infuriating holes—key plot points that just don’t make sense. This is such a painful situation for a family, and you’ll want to feel something for these characters—but, in the end, what should be an absolutely gut-wrenching film just feels awkward and rather detached.
There’s just so much in The Son that should make it an emotional experience—this story about a family trying to navigate their son’s struggle with his mental health. But it simply doesn’t ring true on so many levels.
The Son arrives in theaters nationwide on January 20, 2023.
Listen to the review on Reel Discovery:
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