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The Son (2022) got one thing right — Fighting pain with pain
(Sensitive content ahead.)
In 2020, Florian Zeller directed The Father, starring Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman. The movie was one the of the best that year, with superb performances from both actors and a brilliant adapted screenplay. The movie was based on a play with the same name and is part of a trilogy along with The Son and The Mother.
When news arrived that Zeller was working on another part of the trilogy and was going to direct The Son, the expectations were obviously high. Sadly, the movie was a disappointment. Apart from a solid performance from Hugh Jackman, there’s not much else that stands out in the movie… with one very particular exception.
The story of The Son focuses on Nicholas (Zen McGrath), a teenager clearly struggling with life and school. Nicholas wants to move in with his father Peter (Hugh Jackman) after complaints that his mother (Laura Dern) doesn’t understand him or give him the proper attention.
I’m sorry for the ones expecting a river of tears…
As the story unfolds, we understand that Nicholas is suffering from depression and even suicidal thoughts. He’s harming himself.
Been there, done that. Maybe that’s one of the reasons some specific parts of the movie resonated so much with me. And that’s also why I was baffled while reading some reviews that mentioned the lack of tears on Nicholas’ face throughout most of the movie.
Oh well… Depression is a very complicated thing to deal with. Researchers even say that it’s a terrific imbalance of chemicals on one’s body. Whatever it is, it doesn’t necessarily means that suddenly your tear ducts open and never close again until you’re healed. That’s why sometimes a loved one’s death with suicide surprises so many people.
“I never saw him crying! He never looked sad to me…”
Depression is sometimes more about anger and despair than about sadness. It’s about loosing the ability to deal with the simple daily tasks and feeling numb and detached but at the same time feeling like you’re about to explode. It’s just too hard to explain…
