My Son (2021)

Flawed Experiment That Spoils This - My Son review by GI

It's not until you do a bit of research about this film, a remake of a 2017 French movie, that the reasons it all feels rushed and average is that the main star, James McAvoy, was improvising the whole time and didn't have a clue where the the narrative and his character are going until he made it go that way by his sheer reaction to what the other actors did. All of this isn't apparent when you watch this. It's a basic story, a sort of home grown Taken (2008) set in the Scottish highlands (cue beautiful scenery) where McAvoy's Edmond returns to his former home when his ex wife (Claire Foy) calls to tell him their 7 year old son has gone missing. After a lot of crying and confusion Edmond decides to pursue his own investigation leading to some extreme reactions including torture of a suspect he believes has kidnapped his child. The films swerves from traumatic mystery drama to revenge thriller with little time for any character or theme to emerge and what's left is a 90 minute TV style story that is bewildering and empty of anything meaningful or interesting. I can see why McAvoy was drawn to the project, as an accomplished actor he's given free rein but it benefits the story and audience not one bit. Claire Foy is the one reason to watch this, she's fantastic here.