Zeller's too smart to make a truly "bad" movie, and there are some interesting ideas here... But the messaging is so blunt, and the narrative descent so predictable, it leaves little room for actual emotional engagement.

A badly misjudged melodrama, this domestic tale is bogged down in heavy handed histrionics and sentimental notes that makes you want to run away.

There are no ill intentions behind The Son, but sometimes stories are so badly judged and naive in their execution that they turn ugly.

A two-hour test of endurance.