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★★★★
Directed by: #JeremyMax
Starring: #JenFurlong, #ClarkFurlong, #JonJPeterson, #HeatherBoaz
Our Son
This short film portrays the life of Caroline, a melancholic mother who is coming to terms with the traumatic loss of her 10 year old son. Her husband, Adam, returns after abandoning her for almost a year and becomes this menacing shadow for Caroline. Adam is extremely controlling and even violent, his manipulative behaviour forces her to become this submissive, feeble woman unable to stand up for herself. However, the ghost of her son attempts to warn her that Adam’s presence brings an imminent threat. Our Son was a part of the official selection for Lift-Off Global Network First-Time Filmmaker Sessions 2019, and The Independent Cinema Showcase Summer 2019, an extremely moving piece and highly recommended.
Our Son was gripping from start to finish, Jen Furlong who plays Caroline does an incredible job of displaying the characters raw emotion. Her sadness and tears of pain convey the suffering she has endured, as well as projects this feeling of empathy onto the viewers. Her husband, evokes this overwhelming sense of sympathy from the audience by referring to Caroline as ‘weak’ as she expresses her pain. Adam is immediately established as an intimidating and controlling character, almost creepy in some respects as he soon proposes to Caroline whilst she sits in floods of tears over the death of their son. Adam is cold and ignorant to the severity of what has just occurred. However, Jon J Peterson (Adam) is very convincing at creating this ugly character, his persona adds a thrilling aspect to the film and fuels scenes with an element of fear and uncertainty, with the audience unable to predict his actions.
The young boy’s ghostly presence looms over the family home, he speaks to his mother about his father and reminds her of his evil side. It is Frankie who gives Caroline the courage to stand up for herself. Although he is a ghost, the boy’s presence is hardly threatening but more a positive omen. Frankie also allows Caroline to relive some of the happy moments she has experienced with her son, creating a heart-warming moment between the two characters allowing her to rewind the clock for a few moments.
There were a couple of issues with the editing and the sound. It seemed a little jolty in places and occasionally the sound would end abruptly which worked with some scenes but not all. However, this is a mere minor issue compared with the entirety of the film, as it was enticing and very creative throughout.
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