The son is a film adaptation of the literary work of Florian Zeller. This book belongs to the trilogy of The father, Mother there The son. The movie of The father (2020) has already been adapted to great acclaim and critical and academy acclaim, winning the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and Anthony Hopkins as best actor. NOW, Hugh Jackman stars in this second adaptation which for sure, cwill move many viewers. Want to read the full El Hijo review? Keep reading the article.
The Son does not surpass the Father
The beginnings of Florian Zeller It was so exceptional that it is very difficult to live up to it. With such a great start, expectations for a second movie are always high and often, not necessarily good. Unfortunately, this was the case for The son, a film clearly inferior to the director’s precedent. The story in The father it’s exquisite, an upward evolution until reaching a final dramatic tension that makes you sympathize with the person mainly affected and with the family. it was not the case The sonwhich has a very flat narrative in this regard and although it leaves a good premise in the first moments, it maintains a very neutral pace until the final climax.
Although there are times that work, The son lack of subtleties that enrich the story, everything is quite visible and although the initial premise is very interesting, the characters end up repeating behaviors and arguments without any type of evolution or involution. In this sense, the editing does not help to streamline the film’s narration, since some cuts occur in the narrative sense and the drama gets lost between scenes. The order of meme and triggers is wrong, you move a conversation in an interesting direction only to be dropped along the wayas may be the case with Beth’s conversation (Vanessa Kirby) with Nicholas (Zen McGrath), since a rapprochement between the two characters would have contributed to developing the conflict.
Hugh Jackman puts on a great performance
If there is a common element between The father there The son These are his great performances. Anthony Hopkins he won the Oscar for best actor thanks to his performance, but he was accompanied by an exquisite cast that left a great level in terms of dramatic art. In this case, I have the same feeling The sonOr Hugh Jackman shine above the rest and he manages to represent with great truth the portrait of a father who carries the burden of his childhood on his shoulders and see how he makes the same mistakes that they had with him. In the same way, Laura Dern and especially, vanessa kirbyThey imprint a lot of emotion in their roles and are the best in the film. However, I have mixed feelings with the performance of Zen McGrathWhat Sometimes he manages to convey the character’s inner torment at a glance, and at others he exaggerates, subtracting the veracity of the text. On the other hand, Anthony Hopkinswho reappears in this film, is stellar in his small contribution.
Son’s Final Conclusion
At the end of the film, despite its shocking endingI don’t feel like they conveyed the message well, not even the torment that the character of Zen McGrath. Although the focus is on the perspective of the role he plays Hugh Jackmanthe role of the son should have been developed more to fully understand the pain of the character, because in this way it is not clear if it is only a presentation of a real situation that occurs, if he tackles those conflicts or how do you address them. It seems to me a mistake to idealize a supposedly perfect life for the character of Zen McGraft in the final fantasywhen it’s too late, instead of focusing on parenting mistakes. El Hijo is a correct film which could have gone much further.