FILM CHALLENGE: 49) My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done?

49) My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done?

Director: Werner Herzog

Year: 2010

Plot Summary: Based on a real events, Brad has murdered his mother with a sword and barricaded himself inside his house. With the help of his friends, neighbours and fiancee, the cops piece together the strange tale of how this nice, young man arrived at such a dark place.

Say what? A darkly comic Greek tragedy set within the genre of a murder mystery? Well, it could only mean one thing: David Lynch and Werner Herzog have finally worked together as a producer and director team. They are two of the most creative, intelligent and fascinating film-makers in the industry today and this is among both of the outlandish auteurs' most convention-busting work to date.

From the opening few minutes, it becomes clear that this isn't your usual true crime story as the demented Michael Shannon, sipping from a large coffee cup, approaches a homicide detective to say: "Razzle them, dazzle them, razzle dazzle them!" Nope, if you're looking for twists, turns and action, you have come to the wrong place. What you get here is a surreal, bizarre journey deep into the mind of someone who was driven to murder. There are scenes of stampeding ostriches, Michael Shannon finding God on a can of oatmeal and even a possessive, jello obsessed mother to boot.

It all sounds very odd, and it certainly is, but these mind-bending visuals actually complement the story beautifully. After all, Herzog and Lynch aren't interested in plot and character development here nor are they really that bothered about explaining the exact nature of Brad's actions. Their intention here is to throw you into the shoes of someone who is inches away from breaking point. Whether that's because his friends died in a rafting accident, because his mother refuses to let him grow up, because of a distorted reality, because of some new found faith or even because of some unresolved father issues is entirely for you to decide. Herzog always allows his audience to figure things out for themselves. Just like Lynch, he regards the viewer as mature and cine-literate, able to read the film on a number of different levels, throwing us enough lifelines to ensure we get hooked in.

One of the truly unique things I adored about My Son, despite the fact I haven't got a clue what it meant, was how the story had a modern setting but had an ancient and mythical quality to it as well. Maybe it's got something to do with the aforementioned theory about Brad's distorted reality. After all, lots of the films flashbacks involve him preparing for a play in which he plays a character who slays his mother with a sword. Another thing I found fascinating, with regards to the distorted reality argument and how it's visualised by Herzog, is that fact that the acting was very theatrical. For the majority of the time, it seemed intentionally overdone and melodramatic in a way that I've never seen in cinema before.

However, it's not quite pretentious as it may sound thanks to some brilliant moments of dead pan comedy in My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done?. Furthermore, I defy anyone not to be astounded by Peter Zeitlinger's jaw-dropping cinematography regardless of your opinion on the film as a whole. If there's any justice, there should be an Oscar nomination coming his way. But, most of all, the movie just confirms that Shannon is one of the most underrated actors in cinema at the moment with this funny, over-the-top and dramatic performance that is equally uncomfortable, haunting, powerful and frightening.

In an age when most movies deliver varying levels of predictability, it is refreshing to see both David Lynch and Werner Herzog remain abstract and continue to take risks. I can't wait to watch this again.

4/5

By Daniel Sarath with 2 comments