I walked into & Sons excited to see where the movie would go. It had a fantastic cast, including Bill Nighy, Johnny Flynn and George MacKay, along with an intriguing premise. Unfortunately, I walked out feeling annoyed and bored, even with a twist that seemingly comes out of nowhere. There is a lot going on in this movie, and while some of it works and delivers a compelling concept, the film constantly undermines itself throughout its runtime. What could have been a fascinating family drama ultimately feels like two hours of wasted potential.
The story follows Andrew Dyer (Bill Nighy), a world-famous author who has fallen on hard times since his wife left him following a hinted-at affair. He currently lives with his youngest son, Andy (Noah Jupe), but as he gets older, he begins to reflect on his past mistakes and attempts to make amends with his family.
With the possibility that he may be dying, Andrew reaches out to his estranged sons, Richard (Johnny Flynn) and Jamie (George MacKay), bringing them back into his life alongside other family members, including Emmett (Arthur Conti). Each is forced to step away from their own struggles to confront the man whose choices helped tear the family apart and determine whether there is anything left worth saving.
In all honesty, & Sons starts strong, initially establishing what feels like a compelling family drama. It gives you a sense of where each character stands, the tensions between them and what the story is building toward. I hadn’t read the David Gilbert novel on which & Sons is based, so I went in completely blind. Even with that in mind, I wasn’t prepared for where the story would take its characters or how it would struggle to fully develop its ideas. Despite its ambitions, the film never quite delivers the emotional impact it seems to be aiming for.
“& Sons starts strong, initially establishing what feels like a compelling family drama.”
I did love the performances from the various cast members, particularly how they portrayed the struggles of Andrew’s sons as they attempted to find success in their own creative fields. Each faces roadblocks and personal challenges that leave them feeling as though they will never escape the shadow of their father’s accomplishments. & Sons does an excellent job of showing just how difficult it can be to step out of a family member’s shadow, even when you’ve done everything possible to remove that person from your life.
However, it’s Imelda Staunton‘s performance as Andrew Dyer’s ex-wife, Isabel Platt, that delivers some of the film’s most powerful moments, particularly toward the end. She gives the role everything she has, capturing the emotional pain and resentment Isabel continues to carry even after years of separation. It’s the subtle moments and quiet glances that reveal just how deeply this family continues to suffer from the consequences of Andrew’s decisions all those years ago.
Unfortunately, it’s the film’s major twist that ultimately undermines so many of the positive moments & Sons manages to deliver. It sucks all the oxygen out of the room, leaving behind a collection of questions and an unnecessarily complicated narrative that does little to move the story forward. I’m all for science-fiction concepts in movies, and I believe they can add tremendous depth to a story when handled properly. The problem is that the execution here feels incredibly ham-fisted, leaving me more confused and annoyed than intrigued. Instead of elevating the family drama, the twist distracts from the emotional foundation the film spent so much time establishing.
& Sons had so much potential to tell a compelling story about a father attempting to mend the relationships his arrogance and ego helped destroy. Instead, it becomes a confused mess that never quite figures out how to bring its narrative to a satisfying conclusion, ultimately holding back the fantastic performances at its centre.
A genuinely great movie is buried beneath this overly complicated script, but it never manages to make itself heard over the noise of unnecessary plot twists and shocking revelations. I don’t hate & Sons, and I genuinely wanted to like it, but the film feels more confused than engaging. While there are plenty of individual moments and performances I loved, the whole is sadly far worse than the sum of its parts.
