{"id":140691,"date":"2022-11-27T07:50:11","date_gmt":"2022-11-27T07:50:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/the-son-ending-explained-hugh-jackman-stars-in-years-cruelest-movie\/"},"modified":"2022-11-27T07:50:11","modified_gmt":"2022-11-27T07:50:11","slug":"the-son-ending-explained-hugh-jackman-stars-in-years-cruelest-movie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/the-son-ending-explained-hugh-jackman-stars-in-years-cruelest-movie\/","title":{"rendered":"‘The Son’ Ending, Explained – Hugh Jackman Stars in Year’s Cruelest Movie"},"content":{"rendered":"
When I watched The Father<\/i> back in 2020, I was astonished. The film, about a man named Anthony (Anthony Hopkins) suffering from Alzheimer’s, and his strained relationship with his daughter (Olivia Colman), was an authentic portrayal of what it’s like emotionally to deal with a difficult illness. Films about Alzheimer’s tend to focus on the perspective of the one suffering, but The Father<\/i> dared to reckon with how the people around them suffer as well.<\/p>\n
The film was the accomplished debut from writer-director Florian Zeller, who adapted his own play to brilliant effect. The film went on to earn six Oscar nominations, winning two\u2014one for Best Screenplay, the other for Best Actor (for Hopkins). That’s an impressive haul for a first movie\u2014but not a surprising one, based on how well the movie explored Anthony’s interiority. Through his masterful handling of diegetic space and storytelling, Zeller immediately reached the top of my radar, and I awaited his next project with great anticipation.<\/p>\n
That next project is here\u2014and it’s The Last<\/i>, also based on one of Zeller’s plays. (The Holy Ghost<\/i> isn’t yet in the works, but I choose to hold out hope.) The movie follows Nicholas (Zen McGrath), a 17-year-old who feels like he can’t live with his mother Kate (Laura Dern) anymore. He seeks refuge from his inner turmoil by moving in with his father Peter (Hugh Jackman), a successful businessman, Peter’s new partner Beth (Vanessa Kirby), and their infant son. But Beth meets Nicholas with trepidation, and Peter receives a major new job opportunity, so he barely gives his last the time of day.<\/p>\n
But Peter needs to start paying attention, as Nicholas is in crisis. It turns out he hasn’t been to school in a month, something that stuns both Kate and Peter. In a moment between Nicholas and his father, he makes his pain clear, saying \u201cI don’t know what’s happening to me.\u201d It’s clear their last needs help that neither of them can provide\u2014or rather, it’s clear to everyone who’s watching the movie, but this staggeringly obvious fact seems to elude both parents for some time.<\/p>\n
It pains me to say that The Last<\/i> isn’t merely a disappointing follow-up to The Father<\/i>. It’s also a dreadful, irresponsible movie. The real issue is its fatal misunderstanding of mental illness: it’s like every line is read directly from a pamphlet called \u201cHow note<\/i> to talk about mental health.\u201d All of this is manifested in the film’s gobsmackingly awful ending. If for some reason you’re still keen to see The Last<\/i>\u2014and I wouldn’t blame you; I was excited once\u2014now is the time to leave, because a whole lot of spoilers are coming your way. (I’m not entirely sure you can spoil a movie like The Last<\/i>which telegraphs its every move, but hey, I can understand not wanting to know the ending before you see it.)<\/p>\n