The Good Son
2.5/4
Starring: Macaulay Culkin, Elijah Wood, Wendy Crewson, David Hugh Kelly, Jacqueline Brooks, David Morse
Rated R for Acts of Violence and Terror involving a Disturbed Child
I have to wonder who this movie was made for. Sure, after "Fatal Attraction" became a massive hit, the "stranger within" genre became all the rage. Far be it for me to criticize a movie for lacking a precisely defined audience, but did anyone really think that there was an audience for a movie like this starring pint-sized actors?
"The Good Son" is one of those movies like "Hollow Man;" it should have been a lot better than it actually was. The premise, which is essentially "Single White Female" with prepubescent boys, has promise, but the execution is poor.
Mark (Wood) is a sad little boy. His mother just passed away. Because his father Jack has been called away on business, he is staying with Jack's brother Wallace (Kelly) and his family. Much to the pleasure of Wallace and his wife Susan (Crewson), Mark hits it off splendidly with their son, Henry (Culkin). That is, until Mark realizes that his new friend has an evil streak.
This is not a terrible movie by any means. There is some suspense, and I was never bored. But I kept thinking that, with someone more talent behind the camera, this could have been a better movie.
Clearly, 20th Century Fox was banking on their "Home Alone" hero, Macaulay Culkin, to bring in audiences. It's not hard to see why, since everyone who saw "Home Alone" fell in love with him on screen. But this is not at all like "Home Alone." This is a creepy, sometimes unsettling, thriller that is not kid-friendly in the least.
The performances are effective, but no more. Macaulay Culkin is solid, but there are times when the character demands more than he is capable of giving. His delivery isn't always as strong as what is necessary for the character to work. Elijah Wood is wonderful as always (has he ever given a bad performance?), which is especially laudable considering how bizarre his character acts. The best performance is given by Wendy Crewson, a character actress who is probably best known for playing Harrison Ford's wife in "Air Force One." Crewson is outstanding as Susan, who showers Mark with all the love she can give. She's grieving too, since her infant son Richard drowned recently.
Most of the film's problems can be attributed to two things: director Joseph Rueben and Macaulay Culkin's father. When it was released, "The Good Son" was infamous for the star's father interfering with the production. The script was written by Ian McEwan, the famous British writer who wrote the novel that served the basis for "Atonement." But when Kit Culkin started making demands left and right, McEwan's script was changed drastically.
Rueben may have been the guy they finally hired to direct the movie, but he wasn't the right one. He directed "The Stepfather" (the original) in 1987. That movie wasn't very good, and this one isn't either. There are many scenes that don't land because they are ineptly handled (including a game of hide and seek that is just unsettling and uncomfortable to watch...in a bad way). The child actors are badly directed. And the climax is just absurd. It's a little creepy, but it's also so ridiculous that it's almost unintentionally funny. And at the end of that scene, I was thinking, "Oh, come ON!"
Like I said. This isn't a terrible movie by any means. But, if you want to see a really good movie about a child from hell, put in "Orphan."
Starring: Macaulay Culkin, Elijah Wood, Wendy Crewson, David Hugh Kelly, Jacqueline Brooks, David Morse
Rated R for Acts of Violence and Terror involving a Disturbed Child
I have to wonder who this movie was made for. Sure, after "Fatal Attraction" became a massive hit, the "stranger within" genre became all the rage. Far be it for me to criticize a movie for lacking a precisely defined audience, but did anyone really think that there was an audience for a movie like this starring pint-sized actors?
"The Good Son" is one of those movies like "Hollow Man;" it should have been a lot better than it actually was. The premise, which is essentially "Single White Female" with prepubescent boys, has promise, but the execution is poor.
Mark (Wood) is a sad little boy. His mother just passed away. Because his father Jack has been called away on business, he is staying with Jack's brother Wallace (Kelly) and his family. Much to the pleasure of Wallace and his wife Susan (Crewson), Mark hits it off splendidly with their son, Henry (Culkin). That is, until Mark realizes that his new friend has an evil streak.
This is not a terrible movie by any means. There is some suspense, and I was never bored. But I kept thinking that, with someone more talent behind the camera, this could have been a better movie.
Clearly, 20th Century Fox was banking on their "Home Alone" hero, Macaulay Culkin, to bring in audiences. It's not hard to see why, since everyone who saw "Home Alone" fell in love with him on screen. But this is not at all like "Home Alone." This is a creepy, sometimes unsettling, thriller that is not kid-friendly in the least.
The performances are effective, but no more. Macaulay Culkin is solid, but there are times when the character demands more than he is capable of giving. His delivery isn't always as strong as what is necessary for the character to work. Elijah Wood is wonderful as always (has he ever given a bad performance?), which is especially laudable considering how bizarre his character acts. The best performance is given by Wendy Crewson, a character actress who is probably best known for playing Harrison Ford's wife in "Air Force One." Crewson is outstanding as Susan, who showers Mark with all the love she can give. She's grieving too, since her infant son Richard drowned recently.
Most of the film's problems can be attributed to two things: director Joseph Rueben and Macaulay Culkin's father. When it was released, "The Good Son" was infamous for the star's father interfering with the production. The script was written by Ian McEwan, the famous British writer who wrote the novel that served the basis for "Atonement." But when Kit Culkin started making demands left and right, McEwan's script was changed drastically.
Rueben may have been the guy they finally hired to direct the movie, but he wasn't the right one. He directed "The Stepfather" (the original) in 1987. That movie wasn't very good, and this one isn't either. There are many scenes that don't land because they are ineptly handled (including a game of hide and seek that is just unsettling and uncomfortable to watch...in a bad way). The child actors are badly directed. And the climax is just absurd. It's a little creepy, but it's also so ridiculous that it's almost unintentionally funny. And at the end of that scene, I was thinking, "Oh, come ON!"
Like I said. This isn't a terrible movie by any means. But, if you want to see a really good movie about a child from hell, put in "Orphan."
Comments
Post a Comment