& SONS
- Colin Fraser
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
TWO AND A HALF STARS An aging, alcoholic and faithless writer summons his ex-wife and estranged sons. There is something on his mind he wants to discuss.
DRAMA UK English #ANDSONS Starring Bill Nighy, Imelda Staunton
Families have a habit of sweeping uncomfortable truths under the carpet, but the Dyer family appears to have run out of rug. Bill Nighy plays Andrew Dyer, a celebrated novelist who has spent two decades hiding from the world after detonating his own family with alcoholism, infidelity and emotional absenteeism.
When advancing age and mortality finally prod him into gathering his estranged sons under one roof (including the youngest, born from the affair that destroyed his marriage) it promises the sort of brittle, talk-heavy family reckoning that great actors feast upon.
And for a good while, that's exactly what & SONS delivers.
Nighy is wonderfully slippery, making Andrew equal parts charming, infuriating and impossible to trust. Imelda Staunton is built of steel as she navigates the emotional wreckage left behind, while George MacKay, Johnny Flynn and Noah Jupe give the sons enough individual personality that their resentments never blur together. Director Pablo Trapero patiently builds a drama where every shared meal feels like it could end with someone throwing the cutlery. Often they do.
Then comes that reveal and the film abruptly veers into territory which feels like someone accidentally swapped reels with an episode of Black Mirror. It certainly is unexpected, but surprise alone isn't storytelling. Rather than deepening the family's wounds or illuminating Andrew's desperate search for redemption, the twist feels bolted on to make audiences gasp.
The frustrating part is that the film didn’t needed a shark jump (though which story does?). The emotional stakes were already compelling. Every day there are husbands disappointing wives, fathers disappointing sons without requiring narrative detours into science-fiction.
Which is not to say & SONS a failure. Performances from elite British actors is engrossing, their dialogue crackles with barely concealed resentment, and the family dynamics retain enough bite to keep you invested. Yet the story seems to get nervous every time it edges towards genuine emotional honesty, vers elsewhere and is finally undone by its own cleverness.
By the end, you're left admiring the cast while wondering whether the screenplay lost confidence in the very story it was telling. Sometimes the biggest family secret is knowing when to stop.
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