Nobel Son (2007)

Barkley Michaelson is in a deep life rut. He's struggling to finish his PhD thesis when his father, the learned Eli Michaelson, wins the Nobel Prize for Chemistry. Barkley and his mother, ... See full summary »

Director:

Randall Miller

Writers:

Jody Savin, Randall Miller

Stars:

Alan Rickman, Bryan Greenberg, Shawn Hatosy

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Alan Rickman	...	Eli Michaelson
Bryan Greenberg	...	Barkley Michaelson
Shawn Hatosy	...	Thaddeus James
Mary Steenburgen	...	Sarah Michaelson
Bill Pullman	...	Max Mariner
Eliza Dushku	...	City Hall
Danny DeVito	...	George Gastner
Lindy Booth	...	Beth Chapman
Tracey Walter	...	Simon Ahrens
Ted Danson	...	Harvey Parrish
Ernie Hudson	...	Bill Canepa
Hal B. Klein	...	Tully's Guy
Matt Winston	...	Book Store Manager
Kirk Baily	...	Wil Cavalere
Joyce Guy	...	Eileen Moses

Storyline

Barkley Michaelson is in a deep life rut. He's struggling to finish his PhD thesis when his father, the learned Eli Michaelson, wins the Nobel Prize for Chemistry. Barkley and his mother, Sarah, a renowned forensic psychiatrist, now have the ill-fortune of living with a man-eating monster whose philandering ways have gotten less and less discrete. As if Barkley's world is not bad enough, on the eve of his father receiving the Nobel, Barkley is kidnapped and the requested ransom is the $2,000,000 in Nobel prize money. Needless to say, Eli refuses to pay it and so starts a venomous tale of familial dysfunction, lust, betrayal and ultimately revenge. In the words of Michel De Montaigne, the 16th century philosopher: "There is more barbarity in eating a man alive than in eating him dead."

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Plot Keywords:

nobel prize | thesis | ransom | phd | revenge | 

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Taglines:

Lust, betrayal, kidnapping... and you thought your family had problems!

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some violent gruesome images, language and sexuality

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 December 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Filho do Nobel

Filming Locations:

City of Industry, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$4,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$333,912, 7 December 2008, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$540,183, 24 December 2008

Company Credits

Production Co:

Eli's Son Production,Gimme Five Films,Prama

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Mary Steenburgen's main reason on deciding to do this film was because she was always a fan of Alan Rickman and always wanted to work with him.

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Goofs

After Det. Mariner questions Eli for the second time, Eli and his mother follow the detective out to his car, which is parked with its wheels partially off the asphalt. In the next shot, all of the wheels are on the asphalt.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Barkley Michaelson: The French essayist, Michel de Montaigne, once said, "I think there is more barbarity in eating a man alive than in eating him dead." The wisdom of it. When you were a kid with an open soul, they told the world consists of good guys and bad guys. I always liked the bad guys. Scar Face over Superman.

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Alternate Versions

In the U.K. the film was cut by 10 seconds to remove a scene where somebody has their thumb cut off. An uncut 18 certificate was available to the distributor. For the 2010 DVD the cut was waived and the certificate raised to an 18.

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Connections

References Scarface (1932)

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Soundtracks

Come Inside
Written & Produced by The Chemical Brothers
Courtesy of Astralwerks
Under license from EMI Film & Television Music

User Reviews

An Entertaining Dark Comedy

I love Alan Rickman in anything especially here where he plays a vain, selfish Nobel Laureate chemistry professor, Eli Michaelson. He plays it beautifully. If Alan would reconsider, he should be awarded and accept British knighthood but he has declined in the past. Mary Steenburgen is wonderful as the long suffering wife and mother. Eli's son, Barkley, learns some surprising facts and truths about his beloved father. Eli isn't so keen on giving up his money. There are plenty of memorable moments in the film like the car chase in the mall. Danny DeVito has a features role as their tenant. The cast is marvelous and the story is entertaining as well. It's nice to see Mary Steenburgen in a role worthy of her talent.