‘The Son’ – a movie about family dysfunction ‘done right’

By Eleanor Ringel Cater

Perhaps not the sins, but certainly the shortcomings of the fathers are visited where you might expect in “The Son,” a sharply-observed, smartly-acted follow-up of sorts to “The Father” which recently won Anthony Hopkins his second Oscar.

Also written and directed by Florian Zeller, “The Son” stars Hugh Jackman as Peter Miller, a man who seemingly has everything going for him. A prominent New York attorney on the cusp of a long-dreamed-of political career, with a vivacious and loving second wife, Beth (Vanessa Kirby), and a brand-new baby, Peter’s paradise is lost when his ex, Kate (Laura Dern), calls with disturbing news. Their teenage son Nicholas (Zen McGrath) hasn’t been to school in months.

Distraught, she begs her ex to take over the care and feeding of their vulnerable, unhappy child. Still guilt-ridden and, on some level, hoping to be helpful, Peter agrees. This puts a considerable strain on his still-fresh second marriage as well as his career ambitions.

This isn’t another study of a drug-addicted kid and his desperate parents. Nicholas’ pain goes much deeper, seemingly embedded in his DNA and exacerbated by the break-up of his family. He’s the sort whose very presence brings with it an unsettling melancholia. That “not waving but drowning” aura poet Stevie Smith wrote about.

Kate already knows she’s out of her depth. And Beth, quite rightly, fears the implied threat of destruction Nicholas carries with him. In one of the film’s most disturbing scenes, the boy offers to babysit when their regular sitter cancels at the last moment. Peter wants to show his son that he trusts him, yet instinctually sides with Beth’s understandable fear that leaving an infant with Nicholas is about as safe as leaving him with a homicidal maniac.

Hopkins has a brief cameo to remind us of the difficult upbringing Peter endured. But the film is less interested in laying blame than in laying out for us the seemingly insurmountable odds that attend unhappy children and their helpless parents. Everyone wants to do the right thing, but just what that is – and what the consequences might be – haunts every encounter.

“The Son” is not a brilliantly made picture, especially not compared to its predecessor, which so cannily captured the disorientation of encroaching dementia. It’s a much more straightforward piece and as such, may disappoint the more cinematically minded. Still, it’s an honest movie, a well-made movie, that understands pain and isn’t afraid to show it in an understated but insistent way.

Dern, Kirby and McGrath turn their secondary roles into expertly-shaped portrayals, full of observation and support. But Jackman, whose meteoric stardom as a Marvel superhero has seemingly eclipsed his versatility as a dramatic actor, holds it all together with a performance that showcases his sensitivity, his explosiveness and even his comedic chops.

The movie’s gut-punch finale may be something you saw coming, but that doesn’t necessarily dilute its power. “The Son” is family dysfunction done right, a piece that understands that collateral damage is, nonetheless, still damage and moving on doesn’t always mean leaving pain behind.

“The Son”can be viewed online on Hulu. It was released on Nov. 25 in limited theaters.