🍿60: The Son

This week: The BAFTAs and diversity, three brand new trailers and Hugh Jackman's intense Wolverine ritual...

Feb 23, 2023

“A man who doesn’t spend time with his family can never be a real man.”
~ The Godfather, 1972

Duh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh BAFTAS!

Hosted by Richard E. Grant, the 76th British Academy Film Awards took place on Sunday with a brand new TV format, featuring backstage interviews and music performances from Little Simz and Ariana DeBose. While the ceremony’s introduction was a little too cheesy for my liking, Grant did turn up in The Batmobile - here’s a clip in case you missed it.

As for the awards, a few surprises were handed out with Netflix’s remake of the classic war epic, All Quiet on the Western Front, sweeping no less than seven awards, including Best Film Not In the English Language, Best Direction and Best Film. Despite the film’s poignant anti-war message (though I doubt Putin tuned in) it would seem that stars and critics alike had hoped and expected The Banshees of Inisherin or Everything Everywhere All At Once to win Best Film.

Less surprisingly, Cate Blanchett won Best Actress for Tár while the Best Actor award went to Austin Butler for his portrayal of the King of Rock ’n’ Roll. As good as he was as Elvis, was he really better than Brendan Fraser, Paul Mescal or Colin Farrell?

Perhaps the British Academy was hoping an American winner would make it look diverse. Oh, but wait, where were all the non-white winners? There weren’t any… there weren’t even that many non-white nominees - and there lies the problem. While cinema is finally (though still slowly) becoming more diverse, there is still a lack of appreciation for artists from diverse backgrounds.

As easy as it is to roll our eyes and feign surprise at every awards ceremony, we as audiences can help solve the issue by watching and celebrating a diverse range of films, created and starring a diverse range of actors, in both English and other languages. In doing so, we’ll create a greater demand for diverse cinema and Hollywood will (hopefully!) find some fresh material, which is crucial for a richer and fuller landscape across all art forms.

It really is that simple.

Now for the headlines:

Actor Phil Davies dramatically resigned from the BAFTAs after calling Sunday’s ceremony “an embarrassing travesty”. Read more.
Zach Galifianakis is set to join a live-action remake of Lilo and Stitch. Read more.
Despite his Avatar commitments, James Cameron has said he still wants to make the true-life tale The Last Train From Hiroshima. Read more.
Speaking of Avatar, its sequel Avatar: The Way Of Water has overtaken Titanic at the box office, having made $2.24bn globally. Read more.

Salty Popcorn is 100% free, but if you enjoy SP, please consider buying us a cinema ticket for just £5 per month - or a bunch of tickets for just £30 per year. Thank you!

Upcoming Releases

Past Lives

UK: TBC // USA: TBC

In this romantic drama, written and directed by Celine Song, two deeply connected childhood friends, find themselves apart after one’s family emigrates from South Korea. 20 years later, they are reunited for one fateful week as they confront notions of love and destiny.

Carmen

UK: TBC // USA: 9 March

Benjamin Millepied directs Paul Mescal, Melissa Barrera and Elsa Pataky in this modern take on the classical opera ‘Carmen’ - a searing depiction of a woman who craves love but creates obsession and jealousy.

Tetris

UK: 31 March // USA: 31 March

Don’t panic, this is not some bizarre cinematic rendition of life inside the world of Tetris, this is the true story of Henk Rogers (Taron Egerton), the man who risked his life to outsmart the KGB and turn Tetris into a worldwide sensation.

Fact of the week

Hugh Jackman rose to fame after playing the iconic Wolverine in the X-Men movies - a role he’s still playing more than 20 years after the first film. While this is an impressive feat in itself, what’s more impressive is how many freezing-cold showers he’s had since then…

In a 2009 interview with Asian News International, Jackman said:

“It’s surprisingly easy to find that inner rage. I do a little trick every morning. I stumbled upon this on X-Men. I had to get rid of my hairspray first thing in the morning but my wife was asleep and there was no hot water, it was the middle of Toronto winter.
“I turned the water on and was waiting and I got in and I couldn’t make a noise. I don't know how it was running; it was that cold.
“After 20 to 30 seconds I thought, ‘This is exactly how Wolverine feels all the time.’ It’s that inner rage but you can’t yell or do anything. Every morning I do it. It's now a bit of a superstition.”

Review: The Son

Star rating:

2.5 (out of 5)

Where to watch:

USA: Only in cinemas

UK: Only in cinemas

Runtime:

2hr 03m

Director:

Florian Zeller

Blurb:

Peter’s (Hugh Jackman) life gets upended when his ex-wife tells him their teenage son, Nicholas (Zen McGrath), is deeply troubled and tries to take care of him in the way he would have wanted his own father to have taken care of him.

The review (NO spoilers):

Despite its impressive cast, The Son can’t hold a candle to director Florian Zeller’s last film, The Father - which won two of the six Oscars it was nominated for. While there is no link between the plots of these two films, I was disappointed by how far the apple fell from the tree.

Hugh Jackman plays the part of Peter, a caring but conflicted and confused father, fairly well. Although his Australian accent slips through a couple of times, the real issue is the lack of chemistry between him and Zen McGrath, who plays “the son” Nicholas.

McGrath’s own performance feels heavy-handed and overplayed. There are very few moments in the film where the anguish of Nicholas’s clinical depression feels real. It’s too easy to see through his act and that disconnect, created by not being able to take him seriously, is the key component that’s missing from this film.

On the one hand, McGrath can be forgiven considering he’s only worked on a handful of other films but it does beg the question, why was he cast in the role? For a film to focus so much on the relationship between father and son, and the damning effects of depression, McGrath’s role is vital to the film - but he doesn’t live up to it.

Though it’s not all McGrath’s fault as the film itself drags on for the first 90 minutes before starting to pick up in the last 30, and for this, you can only blame Zeller. Not only did he direct the film, but he also wrote the play that serves as its source material - as he did with The Father.

So while I went into the cinema with fairly mediocre expectations — set by the ratings of other critics — The Son still managed to fall short of them.

Scroll down to see what’s in the next issue.

If you liked The Son…

The Father

2020 | UK: Netflix // USA: Starz (Free) / Amazon Prime ($2.99)

Anthony (Anthony Hopkins) refuses all assistance from his daughter (Olivia Coleman) as he ages. As he tries to make sense of his changing circumstances, he begins to doubt his loved ones, his own mind and even the fabric of his reality.

Technically, we recommended this film in SP#15, but it feels apt to recommend it again in this week’s issue. When I saw this in the cinema a couple of years ago, it really affected me. It’s not an easy watch, but it’s incredibly moving.

In the next issue:

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UK: 3 March // USA: 27 January | Watch the Trailer