Mental illness is very common in the world today. Some are born with it and others develop it over hard life experiences. Our medical structure tries its best to try and help many with these illnesses, but countless times the process doesn’t make the cut, when it comes to helping people overcome the heavy burden they carry. This strong film displays some of the difficulties parents and their children experience when dealing with mental illness.
After a divorce Peter Miller (Hugh Jackman), a highly successful lawyer in New York and his second wife Beth Miller (Vanessa Kirby) have a baby and begin to raise their new child. Among this new joy in their lives is Peter’s past. His son Nicolas Miller (Zen McGrath), begins to have problems in school. Struggling from the divorce of his father from his mother, Kate Miller (Laura Dern), ex-wife of Peter, starts to surface.
Trying to get more involved with his son Peter finds many conflicts that reveal the difficulty his son is having with life. Not knowing where to turn, the many avenues he thought would help become a roadblock. Exploring his past he remembers the difficulty he had with his own father, Anthony Miller (Anthony Hopkins), to communicate with.
Director and writer Florian Zeller has a tough job with expressing experiences with mental illness to others on the silver screen. He does an excellent job pointing out the many important factors that create barricades in finding a way to help your loved ones cope with everyday life. Floridan brings this world for everyone to see and presents it in a way that feels so real, the emotion that is left becomes draining. His efforts are spectacular in getting these experiences across to the viewer so everyone can see the real problems people face everyday.
A very emotional film that depicts mental illness and its consequences. This great example, through the eyes of the parents, shows how little control we have trying to help your loved ones through the pain they are experiencing. Our society today actually struggles with the answers we need to help these suffering individuals.
Final Comment: I based my grade on the excellent depiction of the struggles families experience with mental illness.
Stars 3.5 out of 5
Additional Film Information
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Laura Dern, Vanessa Kirby, Zen McGrath, and Anthony Hopkins.
Directed and written by: Florian Zeller
Genre: Drama
MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for mature thematic content involving suicide, and strong language.
Running Time: 2 hours and 3 minutes
Release Date: January 20, 2023
Distributed By: CAA Media Finance, Cross City Films, and Sony Pictures Classics.
Release In: Dolby Digital and Standard.
