Oh boy that movie...Let's start with this: do NOT watch that movie if you have been, or are going through depression before. It could easily have been called "Depression and what not to do". I also need to point out that if you are suffering from mental health, there are a lot of resources online to help you, but you need to let people help, you cannot do this alone. Hugh Jackman plays the father of young Nicholas ("the son"), who is going through acute depression. After going through a tough divorce, Kate has custody of their son, and Peter is married to Beth, who just had a son. Nicholas feels lost, and is quite violent against his mother, and decides to go live with his father, thinking that a change of scenery will help him get out of the numbness he is suffering from. Unfortunately the father is quite absent from his son's life, even while living with him, because he spends all of his time at work, where he is a lawyer, and trying to become director of campaign for a presidential candidate. Nicholas is left mostly unattended, and while he is given all the tools to get better, he just cannot do it alone. And this is where it gets tricky, after a first suicide attempt, he is committed to a clinic, where the medical team understands that he is at risk, and needs immediate care. And Nicholas manages to manipulate his parents enough that they take him out of necessary care. It is very clear that the director/writer has been through some story like this, with someone in his family going through acute depression, and he tries to show what cannot help. It is just not a movie I can recommend for anyone suffering from mental health issues.
Review of The Son
The Son
(I) (2022)
Very hard movie for mental health sensitive people
5 March 2023
Warning: Spoilers