Reel Retro: The Good Son

Starring a very young Macaulay Culkin and Elijah Wood and released in 1993, the good Son is about a young boy named Mark who after his Mother passes away goes to stay with his auntie and Uncle and their two children. Mark befriends Henry the oldest of the children and being boys they share adventures together. As time progresses Mark starts to realize that something is not right with Henry whilst witnessing the slow degradation of his sanity.

The good son seems to be a very straightforward film. The premise being reminiscent of the “creepy kid genre” but The Good Son is different. It’s believable and well acted. The directors chose two of the finest child actors of that time to portray a very adult film in content. Macaulay was not the first choice but in my opinion the only choice to play ten year old Psychopath Henry Evans because of his charisma, he plays a young rebellious spoilt brat at first and his eccentricities are subtle for the first half of the film but the character seems so intelligent and thus manipulative, a child sociopath.

The opening credits of the film let you know that the film is primarily about children, the text being in a childlike format and the music being very light. The score composed by Elmer Bernstein never feels foreboding and quite a lot more like the film is going to be a light hearted drama, although there is a sense of sadness to the tone that resonates throughout the film. The sense of loss is the main emotion conveyed by Elijah’s character Mark and The Good Son is a narrative through his eyes and his experience. At first I didn’t like the score but on later reflection realized that a terribly suspenseful soundtrack would detract from the emotion of the two main characters, being that the score used is both casual and sad at the same time.

The first signs of a sociopathic nature appear when people are children. They become aware of consequence and their personalities in general. What happens to a child who isn’t aware of any consequences or doesn’t care? A darkness emerges in a person and the shell that it’s wrapped in remains pure. Macaulay’s delivery was cold and unexciting, but that’s why you believed him because to him he didn’t just want to be like this he is. Unlike other creepy kid films the director didn’t choose to simply find an off looking child he wanted to find a child that could act and that could successfully depict a manipulative nature and the film does not suffer for it.

The Scenery in The Good Son is impressive, beautiful country sides and mountains. I felt that they were underused as only one location was seen more than once. The cliffs were a great choice to centre themes around as they seemed themselves so baron and lifeless. The film both begins and ends on a cliff face with the main character facing out into the world bewildered and lost. As a child would be trying to find his way in a world he doesn’t understand, the scenery helps you feel that isolation. Macaulay and Elijah were both called upon to preform some pretty dangerous stunts in The Good Son, one of which seems a little too risky but is pulled off with a great deal of camera trickery and some bribing as well. The producers promised Macaulay a BB gun if he preformed the very tricky shot perfectly, (which he did but the whole deal seems quite irresponsible considering the film’s subject matter).

As stated before The Good Son was very simple in concept; bad kid versus good kid who no one believes until it is too late. It is the delivery that makes any simple film worth watching and I will always rate Macaulay as an underrated child performer, not for his cute face but for his skill. Elijah Wood being very talented himself seemed so mature for his age considering this film was only one of his first major motion pictures. There was a great dynamic between the two, a boy who is aware of death and a boy who becomes a merchant of it. The only thing I would change about The Good Son is that certain plot points that play an important role in the establishment of the main characters were glossed over and some important symbolic imagery was underused. The film was suspenseful and uncomfortable and served as a cautionary tale to all parents and siblings everywhere.

I give The Good Son 3 out of 5 stars.