The Perfect Son
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Movie Reviews of The Perfect Son
Movie Review: A PREDICTABLE MOVIE
Summary: 2 Stars
IT IT SLOW,THE STORY COULD BE BETTER, BUT THE WAY ITS DONE IT MAKE THE WHOLE MOVIE TOO PREDICTABLE CAUSE YOU CAN GO AHEAD OF THE PLOT, KIND OF KNOWING THE NEXT STEP.... TOO ORDINARY, MAYBE OK FOR T.V. DRAMAMovie Review: Refreshingly real
Summary: 4 Stars
"The Perfect Son," though not quite perfect, is well-worth a watch, and is most impressive for a low-budget first-director debut. The acting is brilliant, the cinematography breath-taking, and the storyline touching and genuine to the hardships and family dynamics that everyone, gay or straight, experiences in some form.
Two brothers have chosen very different paths in life. One, Theo, is a bit of a rebel with a history of drug and alcohol abuse. The other, Ryan, holds the metal for the "perfect son." He's a lawyer, he's been taking care of the sick father, and is an overall upstanding member of the family. Well, except for a few minor details: he's gay and is infected with AIDS, both of which are big secrets. When their father dies, the brothers reunite, and are forced to deal with not only the death and their family dynamics, but their problems with themselves, with each other, and as part of their greater surroundings.
The performances by Colm Feore and David Cubitt, and their execution of the developing bond, shine ferociously and compensate for the occassional faulty editing. The plot is written with compassion and deals with several real-life issues, including homophobia, AIDS, death, abortion, and relationships, both familial and not. New director Leonard Farlinger is someone to keep an eye out for. "Perfect Son" is definitely worth seeing.
Movie Review: Seems familiar...
Summary: 2 Stars
Thsi movie tries to play off the relationship of the brothers and it does a fine job but sometimes it feels forced and a bit familiar. Even though I liked the brothers, I feel that the straight one (can't remember his name) makes too huge of a transition over the course of this film. I suppose it could happen....This film seems to borrow parts from other movies. There is the "Memento" style beginning and end (which I though was masterfully done), The "Rites of Passage" brother thing, and a scene or two borrowed from "Philadelphia".
Well acted, technically sound, and entertaining. This film could be a good addition to one's home video collection but there isn't much in it that is original.
Movie Review: Disease-of-the-week-made-for-TV posing as feature film
Summary: 2 Stars
The Perfect Son is a film by that venerable studio Wolf Studios (home of the less than mediocre films about gay life). I didn't realize this when I rented the film. In watching The Perfect Son I was surprised to find a film that was cogent and cohesive for the most part. Beyond that, it is surprisingly well acted. Colm Feore is a capable actor. However (and that's a big however) - the film is greatly flawed by a poor editing job (I'm giving the screenwriter some credit on this one and blaming the editor - it could be the reverse though). The opening scenes of the film are unnecessarily drawn out, showing expositional material and "background" information that could have been portrayed much tighter than is shown. This is extent throughout. And then the flipside is also the case: scenes which could use a bit more clarity for the purpose of background information, don't have any to show at all. Though I am bored with films that unnecessarily show "flashbacks", The Perfect Son desperately needs them.This is a film about two brothers who haven't seen each other in years and unite after the death of their father. One is the golden child and the other is the abandoned and all but disowned child. Harkening not just slightly to the Biblical story of the prodigal son, The Perfect Son doesn't let us see the childhood events that brought about this uneven treatment by the father, nor the childhood relationship of the brothers. We are only able to hear about it in two very slight references that aren't really enough.
The Perfect Son feels more like a 1970's disease of the week film that the television networks were dashing together right and left at the time.
The disease in this film is AIDS. And to give the devil his due, this treatment of AIDS is far more watchable and tolerable than many other films of late have given it. It doesn't really focus on the AIDS, but attempts to focus on the painful relationship between two opposites - the brothers.
So, in short, The Perfect Son is far from perfect, but it is very watchable. Yes, it's a disease of the week film, but it's done so much better than many bigger films of recent.
Movie Review: Manipulative, but good.
Summary: 4 Stars
Parts of this film are emotionally brutal, and I must confess that I felt as though the filmakers were deliberately and relentlessly hitting "controversy"/"sensationalism" buttons. In 93 minutes we deal with drug abuse, euthanasia, abortion, closeted homosexuality, AIDS, gay-bashing, sex-clubs, musings about one's own mortality, and coping with the death of family members. Be forewarned: this is not stuff for a light evening.Having said all this, I appreciate that that the film was made. The acting is convincing and one does gain a sense of redemption watching the estranged brothers regain a a shared sense of filial love. Neither of the brothers is 100% likeable; indeed, both could easily be hated. But in truth all people have weaknesses, and a strength of the film is that a viewer comes to care about these two often unpleasant people. The younger brother's behavior in the last few minutes, while dramatic, loving, and selfless, does strain credibility; I suspect that most people in the depicted situation would would experience some discomfort or squeamishness.