‘The Son’ Venice Review: Hugh Jackman In Florian Zeller’s Gripping Followup To Oscar Winning ‘The Father’
deadline.comWriter/Director Florian Zeller had such great success with his 2020 film adaptation of his stage play, The Father which won six Academy Award nominations including Best Picture, winning for his and co-writer Christopher Hampton’s screenplay, as well as Best Actor for Anthony Hopkins, that he was able to move very quickly in getting a film version going for his next play, 2018’s Le Fils.
The result, The Son, premiering today at the Venice Film Festival in competition, is the second of a three part stage and film series on stories dealing with mental health, in this case a troubled 17 year old boy who has been deeply affected by the divorce of his parents and is suffering severe problems.
Of course The Father dealt with one elderly man’s devastating descent into dimentia and the effect that had on his family, and it was an intimate film production for Zeller, largely taking place in the man’s apartment, yet still managed to be cinematic despite its stage origins.The same goes for The Son, a strong character-driven piece that is opened up a little more, but still has the feeling of an intimate family drama without obvious flashy technique that would sink it.
Zeller is a unique new voice in cinema for that reason among others, and this is only his second feature film. Like having an actor of the caliber of Hopkins in The Father, this one contains a hell of a role for Hugh Jackman, playing Peter, a lawyer on the precipice of a long desired political career.
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