PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITY (THE SON)
First we had 'The Father'.
Now Florian Zeller has given us 'The Son'.
Surely it's only a matter of time before the French playwright turned director gives us 'The Holy Ghost'?
'The Son' sees Zeller reunite with the English screenwriter Christopher Hampton, cinematographer Ben Smithard and film editor Yorgos Lamprinos after their last collaboration 'The Father' scooped two Oscars in 2021 out of a possible six.
© Sony Pictures Classics, STX Films, Black Bear Pictures and UGC DistributionHampton won Adapted Screenplay, while Anthony Hopkins pulled off the big shock of the night by beating the recently deceased and strongly fancied Chadwick Boseman to the Best Actor prize.
Hopkins returns for a brief but effective cameo in Zeller's follow up movie which is typically ponderous family relationship drama.
'The Son,' however, very much belongs to Hugh Jackman who, after landing a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama, should count himself unlucky that he did not make the Best Actor shortlist at this year's Academy Awards.
Jackman plays Peter Miller, a hot shot lawyer in Manhattan whose career is going gangbusters to the point where it could land him a role advising a Presidential campaign.
© Sony Pictures Classics, STX Films, Black Bear Pictures and UGC DistributionWearing sharp suits and working in an office with a stunning view of the Chrysler Building, Peter has just fathered a baby boy named Theo with Vanessa Kirby's Beth who he recently married.
However it is the fallout from his first marriage that preoccupies him.
At the start of Zeller's handsomely made film, Peter's first wife, Laura Dern's Kate calls unexpectedly at the door of his new family's apartment.
She's in a state of distress because her relationship with Peter's other son, Zen McGrath's Nicholas appears to have fragmented.
© Sony Pictures Classics, STX Films, Black Bear Pictures and UGC DistributionNicholas has become sullen and withdrawn but this isn't just typical teenage stuff.
Kate's been shocked to hear from Nicholas's school that he has been playing truant for a month.
Unable to connect with her son anymore, Kate agrees to him living with Peter, Beth and Theo in the hope that it will bring him out of his shell and rescue him from his depression.
Beth reluctantly goes along with the plan, as Peter grabs the opportunity to connect with his son, finding Nicholas a new school.
© Sony Pictures Classics, STX Films, Black Bear Pictures and UGC DistributionWhile there is a temporary lift in mood, it soon becomes clear that Peter and Kate's divorce has taken its toll on Nicholas and has stirred up profound emotions.
Peter is disturbed when Beth discovers Nicholas has been self-harming.
Tension mounts in the family home as demands from work threaten to pull Peter away from his obligation to help Nicholas and also raise Theo with Beth.
As Nicholas and Peter's relationship is tested, it causes the lawyer to also question his relationship with his own father, Anthony Hopkins' Anthony who lives in Washington DC.
© Sony Pictures Classics, STX Films, Black Bear Pictures and UGC DistributionWith Nicholas' behaviour continuing to spiral, will his destructive behaviour ultimately destroy the family?
'The Son' is a typically heavyweight drama from Zeller that tests not just it's cast and crew but its audience too.
It's the kind of emotionally charged movie that might once have thrived at the Oscars.
In fact it's like a slick 21st Century fusion of 'Kramer versus Kramer' and 'Ordinary People' - movies that Academy voters rewarded handsomely.
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© Sony Pictures Classics, STX Films, Black Bear Pictures and UGC DistributionJackman undeniably delivers the best performance of his career as Peter wrestles with the demands of being a father in the worst possible circumstances for a lawyer juggling a high powered career.
You can see how being a father and imparting parental wisdom and guidance sits uncomfortably with him, as the Australian actor delivers a nuanced, highly charged and very intelligent performance.
Dern, Kirby and Hopkins turn in committed, occasionally sparky supporting performances, while veteran English actor Hugh Quarshie is effective in the final third of the film as Nicholas's therapist Dr Harris.
The other big performance in the film is, of course, McGrath's and he is well up to the task of portraying a troubled, floundering teenager.
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© Sony Pictures Classics, STX Films, Black Bear Pictures and UGC DistributionIt's a role that Leonardo diCaprio in his younger days or Timothee Chalamet would have relished.
And it's a relief to see McGrath holding his own in distinguished acting company.
Adapted by Hampton from Zeller's 2018 stage play of the same name which premiered in Paris before being performed in London's West End a year later, it's slickly shot by Ben Smithard in dark 'Succession' palettes.
Zeller and his cinematographer make great use of their interiors, with the mise en scene and positioning of the cast often illustrating the distance between them and the hollowness of seemingly successful lives.
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© Sony Pictures Classics, STX Films, Black Bear Pictures and UGC DistributionAs good as 'The Father' was, it is to Zeller and Hampton's credit that 'The Son' feels more like a movie unlike it's predecessor which struggled to shake off its theatrical origins.
It also helps that there are more locations.
This enables 'The Son' to breathe like a movie in its own right.
Oscar fanatics will know, however, times have changed in the Academy and so have voters' tastes.
© Sony Pictures Classics, STX Films, Black Bear Pictures and UGC DistributionMovies that once seemed destined to make a splash during awards season no longer do so in the rush to reward more quirky fare like 'Everything, Everywhere, All At Once'.
For all its pluses, 'The Son' seems to have fallen victim this year to the fact that its narrative was just too conventional for awards season tastes.
Nevertheless its a good fil that tells its story with real class.
Getting the mix right in terms of substance and style, surely it deserves not just our admiration but applause?
('The Son' was released in UK and Irish cinemas on February 17, 2023)
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