Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
A successful lawyer, with a new wife and infant, agrees to care for his teenage son from a previous marriage after his ex-wife becomes concerned about the boy's wayward behavior.
The Son tackles heavy themes of depression and mental illness in a domestic drama framework, but the narrative follows a fairly predictable trajectory of well-meaning parents failing to grasp the severity of their child's illness. Hugh Jackman and Laura Dern deliver committed performances that elevate the material, but the film leans heavily on melodrama and telegraphed emotional beats. Visually competent but unremarkable, it does little cinematographically to distinguish itself from prestige TV-style drama. The ending, while bleak and arguably realistic, feels abrupt and leaves audiences with little beyond shock and grief, failing to provide meaningful resolution or insight. The film covers familiar ground in mental health storytelling without the distinctive craft or perspective to set it apart.