By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Martial Fougeron
Starring: Nathalie Baye | Olivier Gourmet | Victor Sévaux
Original language title: Mon Fils à Moi
Country: belgium, france
Year: 2007
Running time: 79
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0446370/
Bruce says: “**Spoilers**
“Nathalie Baye is billed as ‘cast against type’ in MY SON. One wonders who might have been the right type for the psychotic nightmare of a mother, other than Isabelle Huppert, of course. Ms. Baye proves that Huppert has not yet cornered the market on roles which depict depraved, marginal behavior.
“MY SON (MON FILS A MOI) is a double character study and an anatomy of a disintegrating relationship between a mother and her son. Puberty is a notoriously difficult time for children but that alone cannot explain why Julien has begun to withdraw from his life. His mother is overly attentive and crosses the line where intimacy and modesty are concerned. Julien has a girlfriend but his mother manages to compromise that single thread of sanity in his life. Julien’s father (Olivier Gourmet) is oblivious to all familial matters and his sister is extremely concerned about Julien but can find no one who will lend an ear to her opinions. With each passing week Julien becomes more and more distant. To combat his disengagement his mother begins imposing rules on him. She interferes with his teachers at school, and ultimately strips his life of all his pleasures. It all culminates in a disaster that is entirely foreseeable. How this disaster is handled is one of the more interesting aspects of the film.
“Victor Sévaux makes a wonderful screen debut as the troubled adolescent. Nathalie Baye is nothing short of astonishing. She does the most irrational things and convinces the viewer that she thinks she is perfectly normal. Olivier Gourmet has little to do other than seem preoccupied by occupational concerns. His talents are regrettably wasted here. 4 cats
“MY SON screened at the 2007 Miami International Film Festival”