American Son — Film Review
American Son is the kind of film that accomplishes exactly what it sets out to do. It catches your attention and draws you in. American Son is an adaptation of a lesser known Broadway show of the same title, first performed in 2018.
In a similar move to 2005’s big-screen imagining of Rent, the play’s minimal but nonetheless brilliant cast all reprise their roles for the screen retelling. Kerry Washington (Scandal) delivers an emotionally-charged performance as Kenny, the rightfully stressed mother pressing the police for answers about her missing son’s whereabouts.
Filled with frustration and guilt, Kendra “Kenny” Connor (Washington) waits impatiently at a Miami police department. Her college-bound son Jamal, a star pupil, is left with his buddies one evening, but late into the night he has not returned home or contacted his parents. While waiting for Scott (Steve Pasquale), Jamal’s father and her estranged husband, Kenny is interrogated by Officer Paul Larkin (Jeremy Jordan), who fails to convince Kenny that his unscrupulous questions about Jamal are part of the procedure and not racially motivated. When Scott arrives at the station, Paul feels comfortable enough with him to share information about Jamal’s case, simply because he is white and is shocked to learn that not only is Scott an FBI agent, but Kenny and Scott are an interracial couple with a mixed child. As Kenny, Scott, and Paul work to get to the bottom of the matter: unsettling questions are brought to the table in regards to how deeply skin color and social class-play are rooted in this bizarre case.
Son is stripped of any visuals that viewers have come to expect when watching modern films. Raw acting and thought-provoking dialogue are what carry the picture. And for those who want to think, and simply love the art of storytelling from language, this film and genre should be a winner and should be a game changer for Netflix. Sadly though, it is not. Most other opinions for this film from non-minorities have been extremely polarizing. Some have praised the film for it’s efforts, and others have bashed it for focusing too much on politics.
This is reflective of our country’s tendency to want to silence any public outcries to the consequences of racism in the U.S. The characterization was written with a sense of realism — exactly as you would in the streets. Loud, emotional, frustrating. How many of us would actually be calm and subtle if this were our situation? Unfortunately, we all don’t have to worry about this situation, but minorities often do. This is a must-see for anyone who is not afraid of an accurate representation of the society that we live in.
