الولد الجميل

An unsettling account of what might happen if your son became a mass murderer, it paints a picture of a family torn up over their child's actions and the new perception the rest of the world sees them in. I don't think I could cope with the endless barrage of Press at the door, nor the loss of friends or stares in the street from total strangers. Then there's the questions: Could I have done anything to stop it? Was his state of mind caused by my own inattention? Did I show him enough love? This is an impossible situation for the parents to deal with, especially as they were on the edge of divorce even before these tragic events transpired. But all they have left is each other, and the film demonstrates their new found alliance against a hostile public. The performances couldn't be bettered, and the remorse you feel for this couple is palpable as everyone seems, in the absence of their dead offspring, to make them the scapegoats. It's not their fault. They loved their son. Sometimes, children just go bad. After all, I don't think Hitler's parents had any idea of the monster they were raising, did they? At first, I hated the last scene. Too many unresolved plot threads, not enough resolution. But the more I think about it, it makes sense. Connect your own dots. Imagine your own follow-up. I would like to say they'll be fine, but I have my doubts... 7/10

A saving grace of this film was the magnificent performances of Maria Bello and Michael Sheen in the title roles, a couple who are totally devastated when their beloved son takes his own life at his college after committing mass murder. While truly a depressing film, it examines the effects of this tragedy on the parents. Apparently, their marriage was far from a good one, and this horrendous event turns things beyond the breaking point. They don't know where to hide when television cameras show up at their home. They flee to her brother, but the sister-in-law isn't too keen to have them, especially when their child is told by the other children that you'll wind up with your cousin in hell. Their lives totally collapse and their doesn't seem a way out. At no time is therapy recommended. Years back I could have easily seen Faye Dunaway and Jack Nicholson in the role of the devastated parents.