AFI Fest 2022: Hugh Jackman Is 'The Son's Only Saving Grace

(L-R) Hugh Jackman & Florian Zeller on set of The Son | Sony Pictures

The follow-up to The Father, The Son is filmmaker Florian Zeller’s latest endeavor. The film is based on Zeller’s stage play of the same name but unfortunately doesn’t adapt as well as its predecessor.

The film follows Peter (Hugh Jackman) and Bath (Vanessa Kirby) as they deal with the sudden change of taking in Peter’s son Nicholas (Zen McGrath) after his mother, Kate (Laura Dern), discovers that Nicholas hasn’t been to school and his mental health is worsening.

(L-R) Zen McGrath, Laura Dern, & Hugh Jackman in The Son | Sony Pictures

To be clear, dementia and depression are very different subjects to tell a story about, and success in one field will not always transfer over to the other. This is reflected in the script’s poor writing and understanding of the subject, as it’s manipulative and talks at you for the sake of talking at you.

There will be people who walk out of this film not only taken aback at how it portrays the difficult subject it revolves around but utterly confused as to what they watched. The film refuses to talk about its topic without beating around the bush, leading to strange tonal shifts and abrupt moments of confusion.

One of the largest problems with the film is that it repeatedly talks about Nicholas’ struggles with anxiety, and it verbally depicts them, while being contradictory to itself in its story. The film is unable to find its footing when bringing depth to Nicholas’ character, and unfortunately, McGrath just can’t sell it either way.

A lot of the writing feels two-dimensional, and while there are profound moments of emotion, there are times when it’s truly shocking to jump from one scene to the next.

(L-R) Hugh Jackman & Sir Anthony Hopkins in The Son | Sony Pictures

On the other hand, most of the main and supporting actors do fantastic jobs, with Hugh Jackman & Anthony Hopkins being the standouts. Jackman brings raw emotion and sensitivity to his role, which sincerely aids the film. Unfortunately, Jackman also falls victim to shortcuts taken in writing and directing, but truly excels when given the chance.

The Son falls flat due to stiff writing, poor execution, and an overall lack of structure. The 2+ hour runtime is poorly paced, with some scenes being dragged out while some need to be longer. It’s difficult to gauge any sense of time in the story, and the film just falls flat more than it should.

(L-R) Laura Dern & Zen McGrath in The Son | Sony Pictures

If you go into this film expecting a film on par with The Father, prepare to be excited for the few scenes that match in tone and structure. You’ll have different experiences with this film based on your personal experiences with the source material, and while the film falls on the lower end of projects of the year, it isn’t the worst, and Jackman could certainly snag “Best Actor” nominations for his work.

The Son hits theaters on November 25 in New York & Los Angeles before going worldwide on January 20.

If you or someone you know is showing signs of self-harm or needs help, call 988 to reach the National Suicide & Crisis Lifefine, or click here for more resources.