The Son
Theatrical release poster
Directed byFlorian Zeller
Screenplay by
Based onLe Fils
by Florian Zeller
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyBen Smithard
Edited byYorgos Lamprinos
Music byHans Zimmer
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • 7 September 2022 (2022-09-07) (Venice)
  • 20 January 2023 (2023-01-20) (United States)
  • 17 February 2023 (2023-02-17) (United Kingdom)
  • 1 March 2023 (2023-03-01) (France)
Running time
123 minutes
Countries
  • France
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$3.6 million[3]

The Son is a 2022 drama film directed by Florian Zeller from a screenplay written by himself and Christopher Hampton. It is based on Zeller's 2018 stage play of the same name. The film stars Hugh Jackman, Laura Dern, Vanessa Kirby, Zen McGrath, Hugh Quarshie, and Anthony Hopkins.

The Son had its world premiere at the 79th Venice International Film Festival on 7 September 2022, and was released for a one-week limited theatrical release in New York City and Los Angeles on 25 November 2022, before a wide release in the United States on 20 January 2023 by Sony Pictures Classics. The film received mixed reviews from critics, though Jackman's performance received praise. At the 80th Golden Globe Awards and 27th Satellite Awards, Jackman was nominated for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama.

Plot

Peter Miller is recently married to his second wife, Beth, and is raising their newborn baby. His ex-wife, Kate, unexpectedly shows up and says their 17-year-old son, Nicholas, is depressed and has dropped out of school.

Although Peter barely knows Nicholas, he agrees to house him. Peter also has a terrible relationship with his own father, Anthony, who was cruel when he wasn't absent from Peter's life. However, Peter has moved on from his childhood trauma and hopes to be a good father towards Nicholas.

Despite trying to bond with Nicholas, Peter refuses to acknowledge that he has deeply wounded him by cheating on Kate. But when Nicholas attempts suicide and is placed in an in-patient treatment facility, Peter belatedly grasps his responsibility for the situation.

A week later, Peter and Kate bring Nicholas home after feeling sympathetic to his pleas that he regrets the decisions that led to the facility. Once back home, Nicholas makes tea for his parents and happily talks about seeing a movie as a family. As he leaves to shower and his parents discuss how things seem better, Nicholas shoots himself dead. Traumatized by his son’s suicide, years later Peter fantasizes about what Nicholas' life could have been like if he had lived. Beth comforts him while he expresses guilt and remorse, and blames himself for the tragedy.

Cast

  • Hugh Jackman as Peter Miller
  • Laura Dern as Kate Miller, Peter’s ex-wife
  • Vanessa Kirby as Beth, Peter's second wife
  • Zen McGrath as Nicholas Miller, Peter's estranged son who is struggling with depression.
    • George Cobell as young Nicholas Miller
  • Hugh Quarshie as Dr. Harris, Nicholas' therapist
  • Anthony Hopkins as Anthony Miller, Peter's father and Nicholas' grandfather.

Production

During an interview via Zoom after the 93rd Academy Awards nominations were announced, director/writer Florian Zeller revealed to Deadline Hollywood that he was finishing up an adaptation of one of his plays titled The Son.[4] In April 2021, Hugh Jackman and Laura Dern were cast to star in the film.[5] In June 2021, Vanessa Kirby joined the cast of the film.[6]

Principal photography began in August 2021.[7] As of October 2021, production had concluded. It was reported Anthony Hopkins and Zen McGrath had also joined the cast, the former of whom is reuniting with Zeller after working on The Father (2020), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor.[8]

Release

In July 2021, Sony Pictures Classics acquired distribution rights to the film.[9] STX Entertainment claimed the distribution rights for the UK, Benelux, Italy, Scandinavia and Iceland that same month.[8] Despite STX's main international office in London shutting down,[10] the company managed to release the film in the aforementioned territories, with Black Bear Pictures co-distributing the film in the UK.

The film had its world premiere in-competition at the 79th Venice International Film Festival on 7 September 2022.[11] Its North American premiere took place at the Toronto International Film Festival that same month on 12 September 2022.[12] It also screened at the 2022 AFI Fest on 5 November 2022.[13] The film was initially scheduled for a limited release in the United States on 11 November 2022, with expansions in the following weeks,[14] before its limited release was shifted to 25 November.[15][16] Its US limited release was later shifted again to a one-week engagement from 25 November, only in limited New York City and Los Angeles theaters, before a nationwide release on 20 January 2023.[17] Although initially planned for 8 March 2023, the film was released in France on 1 March 2023.[18]

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 29%, based on 182 reviews with an average rating of 4.9/10. The website's consensus reads: "Despite reliably solid work from Laura Dern and Hugh Jackman, The Son remains mired in off-puttingly aggressive melodrama."[19] Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 45 out of 100, based on 46 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[20]

Accolades

Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient Result Ref.
AACTA International Awards 24 February 2023 Best Lead Actor Hugh Jackman Nominated [21]
Golden Globe Awards 10 January 2023 Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama Nominated [22]
Satellite Awards 3 March 2023 Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama Nominated [23]
Venice International Film Festival 31 August–10 September 2022 Golden Lion Florian Zeller Nominated [24]

References

  1. ↑ "The Son (2022)". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
  2. ↑ Goodfellow, Melanie (February 7, 2023). "Black Bear Hires Luane Gauer As SVP International Production & Acquisitions". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
  3. ↑ "The Son (2022)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
  4. ↑ Blyth, Antonia (March 15, 2021). "Oscar-Nominated 'The Father' Director Florian Zeller Has Next Adaptation 'The Son' in the Works". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
  5. ↑ Wiseman, Andreas (April 14, 2021). "Hugh Jackman & Laura Dern to Star in Florian Zeller's 'The Son', See-Saw to Produce Follow-Up to Oscar-Nominee 'The Father'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  6. ↑ Keslassy, Elsa; Donnelly, Matt (June 28, 2021). "Vanessa Kirby Joins Hugh Jackman, Laura Dern in Florian Zeller's 'The Son' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
  7. ↑ Zeller, Florian (August 16, 2021). "Today was the first shooting day of #theson with the wonderful @vanessa__kirby and @thehughjackman @sonyclassics @orangestudiofr @see_saw_films". Instagram. Archived from the original on December 26, 2021. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
  8. 1 2 Grater, Tom (October 11, 2021). "Florian Zeller's 'The Son' Sells Out Globally; Anthony Hopkins & Zen McGrath Join Cast". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
  9. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (July 7, 2021). "Sony Pictures Classics Teams Again with Oscar Winner Florian Zeller for 'The Son'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
  10. ↑ Kay, Jeremy (July 29, 2022). "STX to begin winding down UK office". Screen Daily. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
  11. ↑ "Biennale Cinema 2022 | The Son". La Biennale di Venezia. Retrieved August 30, 2022.
  12. ↑ "The Son".
  13. ↑ Hipes, Patrick (September 20, 2022). "AFI Fest Adds 'Bardo', 'The Son', 'She Said', 'Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio', More to Red Carpet Lineup". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
  14. ↑ Goldsmith, Jill (August 10, 2022). "Sony Classics Sets Release Dates for Hugh Jackman-Laura Dern Drama 'The Son' & Four Others". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 10, 2022.
  15. ↑ "The Son". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
  16. ↑ Sony Pictures Classics [@sonyclassics] (October 17, 2022). "From the Academy Award®-winning writer/director of THE FATHER, #TheSon opens November 25 in NY & LA. Coming soon to a theater near you" (Tweet). Retrieved October 17, 2022 – via Twitter.
  17. ↑ Kay, Jeremy (November 17, 2022). "SPC turns 'The Son' November release into one-week qualifying run". Screen Daily. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  18. ↑ Colon, Tanguy (November 3, 2022). "UGC Distribution avance la sortie de The Son". Boxoffice Pro (in French). Archived from the original on November 3, 2022. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
  19. ↑ "The Son (2022)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  20. ↑ "The Son (2022) Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
  21. ↑ Pedersen, Erik (February 23, 2023). "Australia's International Awards: 'Avatar: The Way of Water', Cate Blanchett & Austin Butler Take Top Prizes – Full List". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  22. ↑ "Son, The". Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
  23. ↑ "2022 Awardees". International Press Academy. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  24. ↑ Tartaglione, Nancy (September 10, 2022). "Venice Film Festival Winners: Golden Lion Goes to 'All the Beauty and the Bloodshed'; Luca Guadagnino Best Director, Martin McDonagh Best Screenplay; Cate Blanchett, Colin Farrell Take Acting Prizes". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
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