Fast reviews for busy people! Watch as I review three movies in less time than it takes to wind your watch. Have a look as I race against the clock to tell you about the family dramedy “& Sons,” the crime drama “The Only Living Pickpocket in New York,” and the historical drama “Fatherland.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
SYNOPSIS: A story of regret, legacy and the worst dad since Darth Vader, “& Sons,” now playing in theatres, is a nuanced look at intergenerational pain and the difficulty of healing old wounds.
CAST: Johnny Flynn, Bill Nighy, George MacKay, Imelda Staunton, Dominic West, Noah Jupe. Directed by Pablo Trapero.
REVIEW: An uncompromising, but often very funny family drama, “& Sons” is anchored by an inhibition free performance from Bill Nighy.
Directed by Pablo Trapero and based on David Gilbert’s novel, Nighy plays Andrew Dyer, an ageing, reclusive one-time literary superstar trapped in a prison of his own making, a booze filled Oxfordshire mansion. Following the death of an old friend, he’s convinced his time has also come.
Feeling his time is short, he summons his adult sons from his first marriage, Richard (Johnny Flynn) and Jamie (George MacKay), and their teenage half-brother Andy (Noah Jupe), the child of the affair that broke up his first marriage to Isabel (Imelda Staunton). “I haven’t been here for like 20 years,” says Richard. “I didn’t think I’d ever come back.”
Any expectation of an apology from their estranged father goes out the window when Andrew divulges a secret that brings decades of jealousy and anger to the surface.
“I know you’re familiar with the story of Andy’s conception,” says Andrew.
“Oh, you mean the one about you having an affair and destroying mom’s life and taking the baby in afterwards?”
“All of which is true,” says Andrew. “Except the story itself.”
A dark comedy about legacy and secrets, the over-the-top “& Sons” could have slipped into melodrama but the twisty-turny family drama is elevated by clever writing, and a powerful performance from Nighy. He’s ably supported by Flynn, MacKay, Jupe and Staunton, who all ensure “& Sons” doesn’t get lost in the absurdity of its central premise.
