The Son (2022)

A high powered attorney (Hugh Jackman) finds his hectic life upended when his ex-wife (Laura Dern) comes to him regarding their teenage son (Zen McGrath). The boy suffers from depression and can't cope with everyday life. Based on the play by Florian Zeller (THE FATHER) and directed by him. Zeller's film version of THE FATHER was one of the acclaimed films of 2021 and earned Anthony Hopkins a best actor Oscar. Alas, unlike THE FATHER, THE SON wasn't embraced by the critical establishment which is a pity because I found it a devastating portrait of mental illness with superb performances by the five lead actors (the others are Vanessa Kirby as Jackman's second wife and Hopkins as his father). It's an unrelenting movie and as it slowly unravels, you just know it won't end well and it doesn't. It's uncompromising in its outlook, the film doesn't give us the happy (or even hopeful) ending. The underlying causes of McGrath's psychosis is never given although it's hinted that his parents' divorce and the father's subsequent "abandonment" were a factor. Well worth seeking out but you might want to follow it up with a silly comedy to shake it off.