The Son
Metascore
86 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 18 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 18
  3. Negative: 0 out of 18
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  1. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    100
    It is as assured and flawless a telling of sadness and joy as I have ever seen.
  2. Christian Science Monitor
    Reviewed by: David Sterritt
    100
    It combines a fresh and exciting style with stunning performances and that rarity in current film, a deeply humanistic story.
  3. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    Reviewed by: Sean Axmaker
    100
    The Dardennes's masterful casting and austere style amplify this simple but powerful parable.
  4. Slate
    Reviewed by: David Edelstein
    100
    By the climax, we can hardly breathe -- The outcome is less important than our utter and complete empathy with this man. As we await what he does, we breathe with him, in and out. This is an astonishing movie.
  5. The New Republic
    Reviewed by: Stanley Kauffmann
    100
    The ability to conceive a compact drama on this huge subject and to embody it as perfectly as they have done, added to what they have already accomplished, puts Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne among the premier film artists of our time.
  6. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: Ella Taylor
    90
    Makes no attempt to entertain us. Much of this extraordinarily tactful movie, like "Rosetta," is shot in close-up, focusing on the back of Olivier's neck, as if inviting us to see the world as he does.
  7. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Scott Tobias
    90
    The Dardennes sustain that tension through a masterful closing drive that resembles the final third of "In The Bedroom," only without the same dreadful inevitability.
  8. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: J. Hoberman
    90
    For all its quasi-documentary materialism, The Son is ultimately a Christian allegory of one man's inchoate desire to return good for evil. The movie requires a measure of faith, and like a job well done, it repays that trust.
  9. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Manohla Dargis
    90
    There are all sorts of ways to look at The Son -- as a philosophical thriller, as a statement of faith, as a call to political arms or just as a terrific entertainment.
  10. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Dana Stevens
    90
    To call The Son a masterpiece would be to insult its modesty. Like the homely, useful boxes Olivier teaches his prodigals to build, it is sturdy, durable and, in its downcast, unobtrusive way, miraculous.
  11. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Jonathan Rosenbaum
    90
    To my knowledge there's no one anywhere making films with such a sharp sense of contemporary working-class life -- but for the Dardennes it's only the starting point of a spiritual and profoundly ethical odyssey.
  12. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Michael Wilmington
    88
    It's a movie imbued with a fierce intimacy -- a tone and style similar to cinema verite documentary -- but it's not a banal realism, even if the characters and settings in contemporary working-class Liege initially seem mundane.
  13. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Ken Fox
    80
    The results are a harrowingly intimate connection with a torn, tormented father, and an uncommonly powerful film.
  14. New York Post
    Reviewed by: V.A. Musetto
    75
    The real star of The Son isn't lead actor Olivier Gourmet. It's the back of his neck, which the camera obsessively focuses on throughout this difficult but rewarding Belgian drama.
  15. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Mick LaSalle
    75
    Shrewd, highly controlled little film from Belgium that builds to an unexpected emotional climax.
  16. Salon.com
    Reviewed by: Stephanie Zacharek
    70
    Whatever allure The Son has lies in its very remoteness, in its resolute refusal to show us all but the most delicate emotional vibrations. It also moves very sluggishly.
  17. New York Magazine (Vulture)
    Reviewed by: Peter Rainer
    70
    A prime piece of whirlybird filmmaking, and the technique saps what might have been a powerful experience.
  18. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Jack Mathews
    50
    Sitting through the film is punishing work. The jittery closeups create a response that is more physical (I'm thinking nausea) than emotional, and there are no respites.

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.6 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 14 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 10
  3. Negative: 3 out of 10
  1. Nesbitt10
    9
    "The Son" is a shrewd, highly controlled little film from Belgium that builds to an unexpected emotional climax. Though distant and almost documentary-like in style, it never stops bringing us deeper into the characters' world and into their pain. In other hands, "The Son" could easily have been a straightforward revenge thriller. Yet the Dardenne brothers shy away from melodramatic flourishes: there's no music in the film, the performances are understated, and it's the gestures of the characters which are psychologically revealing--as opposed to their dialogue.
    Olivier (Olivier Gourmet), is a carpenter who teaches the craft to teenagers seeking a vocation. Olivier's routine is interrupted by the enrollment of a new student, Francis (Morgan Marinne), who becomes the object of the carpenter's inexplicable obsession. Speaking with his ex-wife, Magali (Isabella Soupart), about his new charge, Olivier reveals the reason for his fixation--Francis was the young street tough who murdered their child years ago. Now out of juvenile prison, Francis seeks to start anew, and eventually even asks the flummoxed Olivier to become his guardian. Olivier withholds his knowledge from Francis, even as a tentative relationship between the two develops. The tense scenario leads to a climactic confrontation, as the past finally catches up with teacher and student. Belgian filmmakers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne visual style is claustrophobically disorientating. The camera stays tight on Olivier Gourmet--he is in almost every shot, a handheld camera films him from his shoulders up, subjecting him to a scrutiny we rarely encounter onscreen. The scrutiny pays off, for soon we're able to read into the face of this unsmiling man and an underlying sorrow. This also adds to the sense of suspense and unknowing, while the jerky camera cuts suggest his internal agitation. The film is stripped-bare, and only the essential elements remain.
    The true challenge posed by the film is not piecing together the story, nor teasing out its meaning, but embracing its implications in our own lives. Not that "The Son" is a "message" film it isn't but it is one of the most profoundly moral and human films I have seen in years. On first viewing, "The Son"'s rigorous method makes for comparatively demanding viewing. The Dardennes aren't interested in entertaining the viewer-- but in something far more valuable. The difficulty of the first viewing, though, becomes irrelevant in light of its rewards, and subsequent viewings only deepen those rewards.    … Full Review »
  2. ChadS.
    10
    Suddenly, every banal action by this sullen carpenter is significant. Our focus moves away from an overwhelming awareness that this film is being shot with a handheld camera, and onto the blank slate of a face we suspect is a signpost for an imploding soul. Before our very eyes, "The Son" transforms from a stunt into truth, artifice into edifying art. Emilie Dequenne is easier on the eyes than Olivier Gourmet, but "The Son" probably surpasses the Palm d'or-winning "Rosetta" from Cannes '99, simply because we're in disbelief that these talented filmmakers made another great film with this avant-garde approach that stops precariously short of being arch. Ultimately, "The Son" is a suspense film. Without any music cues to prepare us, we're kept on edge everytime the mentor is out of frame in context with his younger companion.… Full Review »
  3. DavidT
    1
    Wow, What a bore. NOTHING Happens! cure for insomnia.
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