It’s not an action packed thriller. It’s not fast paced. It’s not even unpredictable. What it is is a superb portrayal of a microcosm of everyday life in a highly realistic, well written showpiece with phenomenal character portrayals all the way through. Best way I can sum it up is it’s a two hour long train wreck you can’t look away from — in a good way, especially if you’re a father yourself.

In 2020 we had the film adaptation of the play The Father; In 2022, Christopher Hampton teamed up with Florian Zeller again for the film adaptation of the play The Son. [I wonder if this is their way of starting a family multiverse of movies with Anthony Hopkins acting]. The argument is wonderful: how the abandonment of a father to his family can cause deep and irreparable damage to a son, how this son cannot deal with those feelings because beyond the reason and the excuses that his father gives him, the emptiness is real. Hugh Jackman and Laura Dern are great performers and this time is no exception, both giving proper performances that make the family dynamic feel real. Vanessa Kirby and Anthony Hopkins in supporting roles are also good. The dialogues are great, the things that the son says both to his parents and to the father's new wife are arrows that go straight to the heart. However, Zen McGrath's performance as, precisely, the son, did not convince me; I felt it forced all the time, a not so genuine suffering, which made me not end up empathizing with him [And boy, do I have reasons to empathize with that character!]. In addition, the flashback scenes did not seem to me in the same tone as the movie, I noticed them disconnected. But the worst was the final scene that dares to play with our mind and emotions very cheaply. It's not a bad movie, but it doesn't quite measure up to The Father.

The movie hits all the notes you would expect but it still has the power to break hearts. A sad story but a very real one.

This movie is so sad! Was not expecting for it to be so sad.