Post by jo on Jun 24, 2023 14:38:41 GMT -5
IMDB - a long and exhaustive analysis and reflection on the story and its characters!
9/10
Seems misunderstood by many
yoryoporyo23 June 2023
Warning: Spoilers
In my opinion, the emotional complexity of this film seems to have confused a lot of the people who have written reviews about The Son. We can all agree that, sure, The Father is a more enjoyable film because the acting is more appealing, but with that being said, this one does deserve a recognition that the audiences seem reticent to give to it.
Right at the start, we are presented with a boy who seems very overwhelmed by the need to figure out his feelings during his teenage years and it makes sense because it's the time in which boys grow into men and underlying feelings start to surface, making them hate a lot of things including their parents for *insert conflicting childhood episode*. It is something that happens in a lot of children and to my mind, it is an accurate portrayal of real life. Then, as the film goes on, we see a boy with a very serious issue and very strong feelings towards his father that are no joke. It is no longer about just growing up, it is a traumatic childhood episode that he has not been able to accept and it is turning him into a manipulative and numb human being.
Since the 70s, it has been agreed in the psychology world that nobody is born depressed, or crazy, or a manipulator. All of those are features that blossom out of life experiences. The son is precisely that, just a product of his own experience in a battle that he is losing day after day. A lot of users complain about the acting of the boy. I must say, I don't agree entirely. Beneath the surface, you could tell there was a very manipulative person even though his display of emotions were telling you a completely different story. The gaslighting about the earrings, the episode at the psychiatric hospital, the scene while making tea... I have seen the actor in his YouTube channel and in interviews and his behaviour in those shows that he really was acting here. So, I must concede that even though his character ended up making me dislike him a lot, what he did is not easy at all. And as a young actor, he didn't have an easy role to play. It is utter nonsense to compare his acting skills to Hopkins', one of the best actors of all time, let me remind you. It was a good effort, and he does not deserve the backlash he's received.
The film is painful in a lot of different fields, meaning that the degree of emotional violence that the son is throwing towards his parents and the new family of his dad is a very upsetting story to watch. The type of violence that is under the skin and of emotional exhaustion is the most severe of all. And while I am not saying that the character does what he does on purpose, he really does not understand the suffering he is causing to the new lives of those who actually care about him. At some point in life, everybody will go through a traumatic experience. But it is up to us to process that so the pain of the past does not make the present or the future any worse and make the snowball bigger. Hugh Hackman's character fell in love with another woman and quit his family. It is heartbreaking, but it is not his fault. I would really encourage everybody out there not to marry someone and have children until they have really figured out their own feelings but still, it is not his fault. He at the same time had a terrible father figure that just told him to "get a grip" and move on, so it is no wonder that his character at some point could have made an emotional mess. It is not his fault and the son doesn't understand that. It is complex to figure out at a young age and the script has a lot of links established between characters that are difficult to get. But it is a very very solid script that bites off everything it tries to chew
Lastly, I wanted to mention the scene of the three of them being back home after the hospital. What happens there, to me, is something that I could imagine happening in the near future. Just not as suddenly and as violently as it did. The talk between Hugh and Laura's characters wishing to make their son feel the family unity that he had growing up gives you hope that the terrible thing that could potentially happen will not in the end because the son will be having what he always wanted, the sense of belonging to what he once lost. And then, just seeing that hope grow to get it taken away in a heartbeat just broke me down. You end up realising that he has been manipulating his parents into going back home all along and that he didn't even want to have a relationship with them anymore. To me, that was pure evil. I ended up hating the kid. I really can justify how the emotional baggage overwhelms him so bad. But once he had what he needed, he still went on with it. Utterly heartbreaking... They were not bad parents, they really did all they could and never intended to hurt him. But him? He did it on purpose... The worst is you never see it coming, and I fear how many people like this kid's character exist near me capable of such evil things.
Seems misunderstood by many
yoryoporyo23 June 2023
Warning: Spoilers
In my opinion, the emotional complexity of this film seems to have confused a lot of the people who have written reviews about The Son. We can all agree that, sure, The Father is a more enjoyable film because the acting is more appealing, but with that being said, this one does deserve a recognition that the audiences seem reticent to give to it.
Right at the start, we are presented with a boy who seems very overwhelmed by the need to figure out his feelings during his teenage years and it makes sense because it's the time in which boys grow into men and underlying feelings start to surface, making them hate a lot of things including their parents for *insert conflicting childhood episode*. It is something that happens in a lot of children and to my mind, it is an accurate portrayal of real life. Then, as the film goes on, we see a boy with a very serious issue and very strong feelings towards his father that are no joke. It is no longer about just growing up, it is a traumatic childhood episode that he has not been able to accept and it is turning him into a manipulative and numb human being.
Since the 70s, it has been agreed in the psychology world that nobody is born depressed, or crazy, or a manipulator. All of those are features that blossom out of life experiences. The son is precisely that, just a product of his own experience in a battle that he is losing day after day. A lot of users complain about the acting of the boy. I must say, I don't agree entirely. Beneath the surface, you could tell there was a very manipulative person even though his display of emotions were telling you a completely different story. The gaslighting about the earrings, the episode at the psychiatric hospital, the scene while making tea... I have seen the actor in his YouTube channel and in interviews and his behaviour in those shows that he really was acting here. So, I must concede that even though his character ended up making me dislike him a lot, what he did is not easy at all. And as a young actor, he didn't have an easy role to play. It is utter nonsense to compare his acting skills to Hopkins', one of the best actors of all time, let me remind you. It was a good effort, and he does not deserve the backlash he's received.
The film is painful in a lot of different fields, meaning that the degree of emotional violence that the son is throwing towards his parents and the new family of his dad is a very upsetting story to watch. The type of violence that is under the skin and of emotional exhaustion is the most severe of all. And while I am not saying that the character does what he does on purpose, he really does not understand the suffering he is causing to the new lives of those who actually care about him. At some point in life, everybody will go through a traumatic experience. But it is up to us to process that so the pain of the past does not make the present or the future any worse and make the snowball bigger. Hugh Hackman's character fell in love with another woman and quit his family. It is heartbreaking, but it is not his fault. I would really encourage everybody out there not to marry someone and have children until they have really figured out their own feelings but still, it is not his fault. He at the same time had a terrible father figure that just told him to "get a grip" and move on, so it is no wonder that his character at some point could have made an emotional mess. It is not his fault and the son doesn't understand that. It is complex to figure out at a young age and the script has a lot of links established between characters that are difficult to get. But it is a very very solid script that bites off everything it tries to chew
Lastly, I wanted to mention the scene of the three of them being back home after the hospital. What happens there, to me, is something that I could imagine happening in the near future. Just not as suddenly and as violently as it did. The talk between Hugh and Laura's characters wishing to make their son feel the family unity that he had growing up gives you hope that the terrible thing that could potentially happen will not in the end because the son will be having what he always wanted, the sense of belonging to what he once lost. And then, just seeing that hope grow to get it taken away in a heartbeat just broke me down. You end up realising that he has been manipulating his parents into going back home all along and that he didn't even want to have a relationship with them anymore. To me, that was pure evil. I ended up hating the kid. I really can justify how the emotional baggage overwhelms him so bad. But once he had what he needed, he still went on with it. Utterly heartbreaking... They were not bad parents, they really did all they could and never intended to hurt him. But him? He did it on purpose... The worst is you never see it coming, and I fear how many people like this kid's character exist near me capable of such evil things.
