While already known as a respected novelist, playwright, theatre director, and screenwriter, French renaissance man Florian Zeller really put himself on the map with his directorial debut, “The Father,” in 2020, winning Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Actors for Anthony Hopkins at the 93rd Academy Awards.
Zeller follows that film up with “The Son,” which is actually not a sequel but stars Hugh Jackman, Laura Dern, Vanessa Kirby, Zen McGrath, Hugh Quarshie, and Anthony Hopkins once again.
The film centers on a divorced family, Peter (Jackman’s), whose busy life with new partner Beth (Kirby) and their baby is thrown into disarray when his ex-wife Kate (Dern), turns up with their troubled teenage son, Nicholas (McGrath).
“The Son” premiered at the Venice Film Festival in September, and while reviews were decidedly mixed, it’s still said to be something of an Oscar contender for Sony Pictures Classics, including its lovely score by Hans Zimmer. Here’s the official synopsis:
A drama that follows a family as it struggles to reunite after falling apart. THE SON centers on Peter (Jackman), whose hectic life with his infant and new partner Beth (Kirby) is upended when his ex-wife Kate (Dern) appears with their son Nicholas (McGrath), who is now a teenager. The young man has been missing from school for months and is troubled, distant, and angry. Peter strives to take care of Nicholas as he would have liked his own father to have taken care of him while juggling work, his and Beth’s new son, and the offer of his dream position in Washington. However, by reaching for the past to correct its mistakes, he loses sight of how to hold onto the Nicholas in the present.
“The Son” opens in NY & LA theaters on November 25, 2022, and then expands to theaters nationwide on December 16, 2022. Watch the new trailer below.
