My oh my, two of my favourite directors working together and I have only just got around to watching this film, shameful! Directed by Werner Herzog and executively produced by David Lynch, My Son My Son... is a crime mystery set in a pastel suburbia inspired by true events. Michael Shannon, recently seen in the brilliant Boardwalk Empire, plays Brad, a disturbed individual who adores his mother but for some reason ends up killing her. The film explores the events leading up to this mysterious act of violence and we see that Brad has an obsession with pink flamingos, Greek tragedy and believes God is the man on an oatmeal can.
My Son My Son... is visually stunning with dreamlike qualities and surreal motifs. Although Lynch reportedly had nothing to do with this side of the film it certainly feels like a Lynchian nightmare. Shannon, Chloe Sevigny, as Brad’s patient wife and Willem Dafoe as the sympathetic cop, all offer amazing performances and Grace Zabriskie is incredibly creepy and vulnerable at the same time as Brad’s mother. The film has experimental qualities that remind the viewer of Herzog’s presence, with tableaus paused for excruciatingly long periods of time, so long that you can see the mother’s arm shaking and eyes wandering. There is the surreal focus on animals such as ostriches that we have come to expect from Herzog, things are certainly not cut and dry in this world and it is a world I would like to revisit again and again. I have read a few reviews of this film which were not bad but described the film as a weaker or mediocre Herzog fare. I have to disagree, the film is subtle but it is intoxicating and after watching it only the other day I already want to watch it again.
I found all aspects of this film satisfyingly good from the slow disclosure of events to the beautiful shot compositions and attention to detail. Shannon deserves particular praise for another outstanding performance that goes to the dark side in an unobvious and truly chilling style, his distinctive face is one I would love Hollywood to embrace. IMDB has listed the film’s genre as drama but there are deadpan black comedy moments throughout and it is this lack of conforming to one particular genre that makes this film work. Overall, an outstanding piece of filmmaking and one of my favourite films I have seen so far this year.
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