Cast: Macaulay Culkin, Elijah Wood, Wendy Crewson, David Morse, Daniel Hugh Kelly, Quinn Culkin
Director: Joseph Ruben
Producers: Mary Anne Page and Joseph Ruben
Screenplay: Ian McEwan
Cinematography: John Lindley
Music: Elmer Bernstein
U.S. Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox
The death of his mother has been hard on Mark (Elijah Wood). In fact, as she lay on her deathbed, he promised her that he wouldn't let her die -- a promise he couldn't keep. Now, only a short time after the tragedy, Mark's father (David Morse) has to jet off to Tokyo to close a business deal, and Mark must spend his winter break with the family of his uncle Wallace (Daniel Hugh Kelly). While at first the prospect of two weeks in Maine is less than enticing, Mark loses much of his reticence once he meets the people he'll be staying with, taking an instant liking to his aunt Susan (Wendy Crewson), cousin Connie (Quinn Culkin), and especially cousin Henry (Macaulay Culkin). However, after an enjoyable first few days spent mostly in the company of Henry, Mark discovers that his cousin has a violent streak that is becoming increasingly more twisted, and that it's only a matter of time before someone dies -- if they haven't already.
Casting actors against type is always a risky proposition. When it works, the dividends are often huge, but when it fails, the movie usually goes under. Such is the case with The Good Son. Few are less likely to play a conscienceless, nasty-minded boy than the lively Macaulay Culkin, and when he tries, he does a horrendous job. Henry comes across as a one-dimensional, boring kid who has nothing better to do than shoot bolts at animals, smoke cigarettes, cause ten-car pileups, and tell damaging lies about people who annoy him.
Elijah Wood, who did a solid job in Disney's newest Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, is better than Culkin -- but not by much. There's something not right about Mark. He comes across more like a written character than a real child, and Wood is unable to bridge the gap. A few of Mark's scenes ring true, but at least as many are overly-melodramatic and acted with a distinct lack of inspiration.
The plot, which sets up a psychotic pre-teen as the villain, doesn't offer any new wrinkles. There are a number of fascinating psychological issues that could have been explored, but these are largely left untouched in favor of presenting a straightforward thriller. With the exception of a couple of throw-away lines that explain one incident, we are offered no reason for why Henry acts the way he does. He's Jason or Freddy with an innocent countenance.
The movie makes a few futile attempts to use Mark's guilt about his mother's death as a plot device, but it keeps getting in the way of the main story. Part of the problem may be that the boy's guilt and grief are never well-presented, and it's difficult to understand why Mark believes that his aunt is somehow the reincarnation of his mother, even though her dying words to him were that she would be with him forever.
I'm disappointed that director Joseph Ruben has turned out such a lackluster production (although this isn't his first miss -- witness Sleeping with the Enemy, a pedestrian movie if there ever was one). Ruben, whose 1987 sleeper, The Stepfather, was one of the decade's best thrillers, has, in The Good Son, ignored everything that made that earlier film work: a tight script, excellent atmosphere, and solid characterization.
From the red-clay backdrops of Nevada to the frosty winterscapes of New England, The Good Son is beautifully photographed (by cinematographer John Lindley), but that's one of its few noteworthy points. Not many people enjoy going to the movies just to see pretty nature scenes, but that's just about the only reason for taking a trip to the theaters for The Good Son. At best, this film is strictly cable fare.
© 1993 James Berardinelli