THE SON - Fan Page

[jo]

On Valentine's Day --

there have been indications of mental health issues due to unrequited love or broken relationships.

I remember the son of a friend who broke up with his girl friend... who jumped from the 3rd floor of a mall in a suicide attempt...but luckily his fall was broken by the soft roof of a food stall.

Years later... he is happily married with kids. His wife : the woman for him he tried to end his young life. Happy ending.


Happy Valentine's Day to all!

Jo

[jo]

Translation by Google :

Exaggeratedly bastardized, although it does have its weak points. Jackman sends one of the best performances of his career, accompanied by two greats like Dern and Kirby. The scene with Hopkins, great and McGrath is not as bad as they describe it. Strong 7/10.

[jo]

From Rotten Tomatoes reader reviews --

Jack R
Feb 13, 2023
4 of 5 *
A hard watch, yes… but one that will convict the heck out of you, leaving you determined to do better yourself. Two thumbs up!!!



Robert T
Feb 12, 2023
5 of 5*
I don't get it why all the bad reviews and hate for this film? I found it an absolutely gripping and outstanding movie with amazing performances.

[njr]

Did Jack R mean to say “convince” not “convict?” Surely he did.

[jo]

from IMDB User Reviews --

9/10
One of a kind movie!

prasanna-nagaraja14 February 2023

Warning: Spoilers
A very good movie about relationships and complications involved. Although not a good ending, gives a message about the emotional coaster possible in certain cases that affect us.

I would say youth is a very sensitive phase and lot of things affect an individual and one of the reason is highlighted in the movie.

Helps us think more on the consiquences of the decision we take. Probably worth while to understand our kids more and take action if we are bound to take decisions.

Making such movies will bring awareness and gives us ability to think of our kids while moving forward.

Very good acting by Hugh and others. Loved it!

[jo]

Another IMDB reviewer --

9/10
I Don't Understand The Negative Reviews

varun-2507199715 February 2023

I don't know much about depression but I do know how people react to it if someone close to them have it. Florian Zeller may not have presented how accurate acute depression is but his depiction of characters around a person suffering from it is near perfect.

The Son works for me more than The Father because it relies very little on subtext and the story is out there in the open. Hugh Jackman gives his career best performance as a role of a successful person but an absent father. There are criticisms of how the movie does not empathize with Nicholos but I didn't feel it that way. I felt it was rather accurate because of how less most of us understand what depression is actually is. Most of the times, people think "it's just in your head" or "move forward" are actual solutions to depression.

The scene where Hugh Jackman fights with his son was spectacular and shows us how much we are like our dads. Hopkins appears in just one scene but that single scene shows the irony of Jackman's character. The ending was absolutely devastating and very brave. The Son is one of the very films which worked very well for me despite it's not so favourable general public reception.

[jo]

Feb 16, 2023 11:05:56 GMT -5 jo said:

Yay!!!!!!!


Home video of THE SON ( BluRay & DVD ) will be released on March 28, 2023!


Amazon is already taking pre-orders!

I thought it would take them much longer to release the home video version!


Jo

[jo]

Translation by Google:

You see Hugh Jackman like this and you understand why Vanessa Kirby took it from Laura Dern in The Son

[jo]

Another IMDB reviewer :

7/10
A teenager's psychological trauma and the consequences
madanmarwah16 February 2023

Just a bit of research into the works of writer, playwright, director Florian Zeller gave me the information that the he has made a trilogy namely " The mother" ( stage play) a decade back and two movies " The father " and " The son" recently. While I have not seen the play, I found "The father" an excellent movie embellished with the outstanding performance of Sir Anthony Hopkins for which he got the much deserved Oscar award. This movie too is first rate ( but not without its flaws) and has some good acting of Hugh Jackman and Laura Dern with a bonus of a cameo of Anthony Hopkins as the grandfather. Some critics and reviewers have said unkind words about this movie since they found it too bleak and schmaltzy and have also criticized the acting. Not fair really because the subject demanded sentimentality, poignancy and pensiveness. The main characters are the father ( Hugh), the ex wife ( Laura Dern), their 17 year old son ( Zen McGrath) and the present wife ( Venessa Kirby). The son is traumatized by his parent's divorce, he is in acute depression and moves in to live with the father but he is not able to stabilise causing misery to all. He blames his father for divorcing his mom.

Director Florian builds up a charged atmosphere with some heart wrenching scenes as the parents try to get the son to normalise and fit in the family. Those familiar with or knowledgeable on mental health issues may find fault with some points of the narrative specially the apparent inaction by the parents on a few obvious red flags. While most scenes are moving, some may find them cringe worthy and off putting. Actingwise Hugh has put up a good performance showing a father's remorse and guilt. Laura is good as usual and on familiar turf as the distraught mother, a role she has done earlier. Teenager Zen has done well considering his age and experience. I thought he projected the pain, confusion, distress and bitterness very well. There is a beautifully crafted and enacted scene between Hugh and Anthony Hopkins as father and son. The background music enhances the dramatic effect.

[jo]

[jo]

Reposting this here ( re Hugh's appearance on the Graham Norton show to promote THE SON) --

Feb 18, 2023 0:00:12 GMT -5 jo said:

Full episode of the Graham Norton show on Feb 17, 2023!


www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLWODMOnE4M


Great & enjoyable show! Brings back some memories of some of the guests. I saw Oklahoma! in 1999 - did not know the lead, but he had a commanding stage presence & a powerful legit stage voice...waited for him to return to the West End ( but he went further westward - to Hollywood as Wolverine). I saw Three Days of Rain (B'way) -- I only knew Julia Roberts. Did not know the other 2 but I thought one of them was the best actor of the trio ( Name: Paul Rudd... btw, the other one was Bradley Cooper). Never saw her on film and the first one I saw her in it was comedic - -and she was the best actress there. Name of Judi Dench, where she played someone trying to protect the bells of San Gimignano in a WW2 movie set in a Tuscan village. Pink said she never sings ballads... except one that many people fell in love with. First sang by Hugh in Greatest Showman....and done in a cover by Pink & her daughter, A Million Dreams. Michael Douglas - great acting family! They and the other guests (Michael B Jordan & Eugene Levy) -- why not an ensemble movie, maybe one whose original story was written by Agatha Christie?!

[jo]

Re A MILLION DREAMS as single releases - per RIAA certification for USA release.

AWARD ARTIST TITLE CERTIFICATION DATE LABEL FORMAT
SHARE

P!NK A MILLION DREAMS November 29, 2022 ATLANTIC RECORDS SINGLE
MORE DETAILS
Release Date Previous Certification(s) | Date(s) Category Type Certified Units Genre
OCTOBER 24, 2017 Platinum | November 29, 2022 Digital 1 Million SOUNDTRACK
Gold | March 23, 2020
SHARE

ZIV ZAIFMAN, HUGH JACKMAN, MICHELLE WILLIAMS A MILLION DREAMS November 24, 2021 ATLANTIC RECORDS SINGLE
MORE DETAILS
Release Date Previous Certification(s) | Date(s) Category Type Certified Units Genre
DECEMBER 8, 2017 2x Multi-Platinum | November 24, 2021 None Digital 2 Million POP
Platinum | December 13, 2018
Gold | July 25, 2018

Kind of funny that the Pink release is classified as "Soundtrack" while the Jackman release is classified as "Pop"

Jo

[jo]

Another IMDB review --

6/10
Misery porn part II
beatrice_gangi17 February 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Florian Zeller's second feature film, The Son, is the second part of a presumably family-themed trilogy, the third part of which is supposed to be devoted to the mother figure. In this film the focus is on one of the most complex issues contemporary society is today interfacing with, namely that of mental illness and depression.

Overall, the quality of the film is good, albeit with some major slips. Technically and structurally it has no particularly noteworthy elements, except for the interesting use of colors and sets.

Very praisable, is one of the key messages of the picture, that is how depression is, for all intents and purposes, a disease, and as such should be conceived and treated. As made explicit directly in the film, it is something against with love alone may not be enough. The biggest lack, on the other hand, is the very pivotal figure and its interpretation, that is the titolar son, played by Zen McGrath. Although the actor is quite good, he lacks the depth and authenticity required to effectively communicate such a complex illness as the one depicted. All the more, the character is repeatedly portrayed as frightening, strange, disturbing, and so on, but to the viewer he appears sad and dejected at best.

However, I do not think the film deserves to be judged as heavily as some critics are painting it. Indeed, one can define the whole picture as simple pornography of pain, but this juxtaposes with the obvious desire to convey a delicate and important message. The other two criticisms that I have noticed most relate mainly to the superficial portrayal of what depression is, and to the lecturing of The Son as a discouragement to parenting, both of which are not entirely objective. Depression comes in many forms, but this is one of them. There is no right way to experience and suffer the illness, just as there is not always a clear motive behind it. Also, this film does not encourage not having children, as it simply wants to make people acknowldege something that exists, like so many other sad things one would rather not think about. In addition, it explicits how, with the right tools, it is something that can be addressed and treated. And how it would be better not to leave a loaded gun beside your suicidal child - maybe.

Finally, the enactment of what might have been the ideal future for the son appears very misguided in that, although this was not the intended message, it supports the thought that a life is worthy of appreciation only once a set of expectations, even very high ones, have been exceeded.

6/10.

[jo]

From another IMDB reviewer --

10/10
I can tell from personal experience that this movie is very accurate
markus-lautenbach19 February 2023


Warning: Spoilers

There are so many scenes that just hit right there and it overall perfectly captures the subtleness and confusion and frustration around this kind of depression.

The dancing scene where all seems happy and suddenly the son is thrown back in his suffering and can't even comprehend who robbed this moment from him (probably because the father turned away from him, like abandoning him again).

The questions what's going on and the son doesn't know either, is just suffering and needs help.

The lies to avoid these painful questions that don't result in help.

The frustration that results in aggression and blaming the son from caretakers when they try to help but can't and don't understand why.

I also found the moment powerful when the son looks into the camera with all his pain and it's so much that the parents feel it as well, far away and preoccupied as they are.

In the end, the loss of hope to ever someone understanding and helping, isolated by all the lies and masking and under threat to loose the last but of autonomy to avoid the suffering there can only be one solution.

A nearly classic tragedy and one that probably could have been turned around at multiple points, but that's the point of a tragedy.

[jo]

[jo]

[jo]

From an attendee of the special screening in Paris --

Translated from French by Google:
In preview
@cinemathequefr
, The Son by Florian Zeller, in his presence and that of Laura Dern and Hugh Jackman, remarkable actors of the film. After The Father, the playwright and director delivers a controlled, intense film to evoke adolescent depression. Kick ❤️





Look at the sponsors of the special screening.

I am forgetting that Florian Zeller is a favorite son of France. He is a very famous novelist/dramaturgist...and now an Oscar-winning filmmaker!

Jo

[njr]

Google translate says “Coup de ❤️” means “Shot of ❤️” (like the expressions “shot through the heart”)

[jo]

From IMDB --

7/10
Didn't understand the negativity surrounding this movie
yogaadithya23 February 2023
So I didn't get to see this movie in theatre. And I watched this on Streaming.

All in all "The son" is a really good film with an amazing message that how the present condition of parents influences their children and why parents shouldn't be selfish for their own good without thinking about how their children might feel.

Yes . This movie is no way like a conceptual description of depression like Florian zellers earlier work "the father". I was a little bit dissapointed on that. But hey , not all movies have to be formulaic.

Some parts felt a little bit draggy and I feel that the runtime should have been cut off to like 100 minutes.

All In all "the son" movie is not an easy watch , but must be seen by everyone . Some parts felt like boyhood movie.

It's on streaming?

Jo

[jo]

Matthew Ivan
@matthewivan77
Replying to
@rhodetolove

hugh jackman in the son you are all of us

9:41 PM · Feb 23, 2023
·
161
Views

[jo]

[jo]

Nataliai04
@nataliai04
Replying to
@elclubdelcine13
Muy pero muy buena, aunque más que la película me gusto la actuación de Fraser, me encantó almas en pena y la actuación de Colin es excelente también. Recomiendo muchísimo una que vi con Hugh Jackman, "El Hijo" desgarradora me pareció a mí.

Translated from Spanish by Google:

Very, very good, although more than the movie I liked Fraser's performance, I loved Banshees and Colin's performance is excellent too. I highly recommend one that I saw with Hugh Jackman, "El Hijo" seemed heartbreaking to me.

[jo]

[jo]

EduDiazA.
@edo1988
Dos películas que vi en estos últimos días,y me encantaron🤩 #Tar una locura,vuela la cabeza. Qué nivel de actuación el de Cate Blanchett.
Y #TheSon es un drama de esos que te llega al corazón. Me sorprendió Hugh Jackman con su entrega👌

Translated from Spanish by Google:

Two movies that I saw in recent days, and I loved them 🤩 #Tar crazy, blow your mind. What a level of acting that of Cate Blanchett.
And #TheSon is one of those dramas that touches your heart. I was surprised by Hugh Jackman with his delivery 👌

[jo]

This is one of several similar reactions I have just read from French and Spanish movie audiences.

Is there a difference in reactions due to national value distinctions? I am not generalizing, just sharing my observation --

American and English moviegoer reactions seem to want something else or something more...even if some English critics did appreciate the movie's focus...and Rotten Tomatoes audience scores was more than double the critic evaluations.

While the Southern Europeans/Romance language nations ( France, Spain & Italy at the Venice filmfest) seem to accept the cinematic message that Zeller and his actors wished to convey.

Did the critics simply looked at filmmaking techniques and not absorb the cinematic message and how it was delivered? Individual audience reviews on IMDB and RTomatoes were much more appreciative of the movie.

Hmm...

Jo