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(JamieF-AC) GoodSon(onesheet)1

The Good Son is a 1993 American psychological thriller film directed by Joseph Ruben and written by English novelist Ian McEwan. The film stars Macaulay Culkin and Elijah Wood. Its story follows a young boy named Mark who, after the death of his mother, is sent to stay with his aunt and uncle while his father is away on business trip. While there he meets his cousin Henry, who shows signs of violent and evil behavior. It received negative reviews from critics.

Plot[]

Twelve-year-old Mark Evans, reeling from his mother Janice's death, is left in Maine with his uncle Wallace and aunt Susan by his father Jack, who is away on a business trip. Reacquainted with his cousins, eight-year-old Connie and twelve-year-old Henry, Mark initially bonds with Henry. However, Henry's disturbing preoccupation with death, revealed during conversations about the loss of Mark's mother and Henry's younger brother Richard, unsettles Mark.

Henry's behavior grows increasingly alarming, marked by sociopathic tendencies. Mark, intimidated by Henry's menacing threats, feels unable to confide in Wallace and Susan. Henry's dangerous antics escalate, including causing a major accident by dropping a dummy, dubbed 'Mr. Highway,' onto a busy road. He later hints at a plan to harm his sister Connie. Fearing for Connie's safety, Mark stays in her room overnight. The following day, he discovers Henry has taken Connie ice skating. At the pond, Henry deliberately sends Connie onto thin ice, leading to her near-drowning and subsequent hospitalization. During a hospital visit, Susan (hiding in the dark) interrupts Henry's attempt to smother Connie, growing suspicious of her son's intentions.

Susan discovers a rubber duck that Henry had concealed; it was previously owned by Richard and accompanied him in the bathtub on the night he drowned, after which it disappeared. When Susan confronts Henry, he impassively states that the toy was his before Richard had it and demands its return. Susan refuses, leading to a violent tug-a-war, after which Henry snatches the duck and flees to the cemetery, where he discards it down a well, showing that Richard meant nothing to him.

As the bond between Susan and Mark grows stronger, Henry implies he would hurt Susan to prevent Mark from getting closer to her. During a clash, Wallace locks Mark in the den. At the same time, Henry, raising Susan's suspicions, asks her to join him for a walk, just as Mark escapes the den to follow them. Susan confronts Henry, questioning if he killed his brother. Henry evasively answers, "What if I did?" Appalled by her son's transformation, Susan asserts that Henry needs help, but he runs off into the forest. Susan pursues him, and at a cliff's edge, Henry pushes her over. Hanging dangerously, Susan watches as Henry prepares to throw a rock at her, but Mark tackles his cousin, sparking a fight. As Susan pulls herself up, the boys tumble over the cliff, only to be caught by Susan. Struggling to hold them, Susan notices Henry's chilling composure, expecting to be saved. Realizing the extent of her son's evil nature, Susan lets go of Henry, who falls to his demise. She then rescues Mark, and together they witness Henry's body on the rocks below, eventually being swept out to sea. Embracing, Susan and Mark share a poignant moment.

When Mark returns to Arizona, he reflects upon Susan's choice in saving him instead of Henry and wonders if she would make the same choice again, but knows it is something he will never ask her.

Cast[]

  • Macaulay Culkin as Henry Evans. Adept at appearing normal, Henry is in fact a violent sociopath, willing to kill anyone he dislikes or who learns the truth about him killing his little brother Richard out of jealousy.
  • Elijah Wood as Mark Evans. The death of his mother and his father going on a business trip in Tokyo, Japan is what causes him to be left with his relatives in Maine. He is also the first to learn the truth about Henry.
  • Wendy Crewson as Susan Evans, Henry's mother and Mark's aunt. She is initially unwilling to believe the truth about her son.
  • David Morse as Jack Evans, Mark's father.
  • Daniel Hugh Kelly as Wallace Evans, Henry's father and Jack's brother.
  • Jacqueline Brookes as Alice Davenport, a therapist.
  • Quinn Kay Culkin as Connie Evans, Henry's sister whom he despises out of jealousy.
  • Ashley Crow as Janice Evans, Mark's mother whose death starts a chain of events.

Reception[]

The film received a mostly negative response from critics, with a 24% overall score on Rotten Tomatoes.[1] Roger Ebert, who deemed the film inappropriate for children, awarded it just half a star, calling the project a "creepy, unpleasant experience".[2] He and Gene Siskel later gave it "Two Thumbs Down":[3]

While the film itself was generally panned by critics, Elijah Wood and Macaulay Culkin's performances were nominated for awards. Wood won Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Young Actor, while Culkin was nominated for an MTV Movie Award for Best Villain.[citation needed]

Box office[]

The Good Son earned US$44,789,789 at the North American box office revenues, and another $15,823,219 in other territories, for a total worldwide box office take of $60,613,008.[4][5]

Development[]

Following the completion of his novel The Child in Time, English novelist Ian McEwan was invited by 20th Century Fox to write a screenplay "about evil - possible concerning children." McEwan recalled, "The idea was to make a low budget, high class movie, not something that Fox would naturally make a lot of money on".

Despite being well received, the end result was deemed insufficiently commercial by the parties that commissioned it, and it floated around Hollywood until being discovered by independent producer Mary Ann Page. Enthusiastic about the script, originally sent to her as a writing sample, Page tried to get the project off the ground for three and a half years. The film was briefly set up at Universal Studios, during which Brian Gilbert was attached as director, but it collapsed thereafter.

Following the successes of Home Alone and Silence of the Lambs, which respectively demonstrated the appeal of both a movie about kids and of an "extreme thriller," Fox itself chose to revisit the project, which they now saw as viable. Director Michael Lehmann (Heathers) became attached, Laurence Mark was appointed as a co-producer, and McEwan was called in for rewrites. Mary Steenburgen was cast as the mother with two unknowns (including Jesse Bradford as the bad seed) starring as the boys. McEwan was optimistic about the project and by November 1991, sets were being built in Maine for a production that would cost approximately $12 million.

This progress was suddenly interrupted when Kit Culkin, Macaulay Culkin's father and manager, at the time a notoriously influential force in Hollywood due to the child's stardom, wanted his son to star in the film. Wishing to prove Macaulay's capacity in a dark role, he made his part in the The Good Son a condition for his appearing in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. Fox agreed enthusiastically due to Culkin's bankability. As the movie was originally scheduled to shoot at the same time as Home Alone 2, the start date for The Good Son was pushed back for a year, making Steenburgen no longer available but enabling Elijah Wood's involvement.

Director Lehmann and producer Mark conflicted with the imposition, leading both to leave the project. The demanding Culkin would go on to insist that his daughter Quinn receive a role in the film and vetted replacement director Joseph Ruben (Sleeping with the Enemy). Furthermore, the budget had risen to an estimated $20 million.

McEwan found himself performing further rewrites that continued to simplify the story to satisfy Ruben's comparatively mainstream tastes, and was ultimately unceremoniously removed from the project altogether when another screenwriter was commissioned. Despite this, McEwan was awarded sole writing credit in arbitration when he contested a shared credit.[6]

Novel[]

A tie-in novel was published alongside the movie's release in 1993, written by Todd Strasser. The novel elaborates on the movie, detailing how Henry was born a sociopath, rather than being some personification of evil.

In the novel, Henry's mother Susan eventually discovers that Henry is unable to understand emotions like love and sorrow, and that pleasure derived from selfish actions and the torment of others are the few things he truly feels. The book also concludes differently from the movie, ending with Mark returning to Uncle Wallace's home in Maine one year later. Mark and Susan visit Henry's grave, which includes an epitaph: "Without Darkness There Can be No Light".

Also in the novelization, Wallace and Susan's date is cut short because Susan gets a feeling something is wrong at the house.

Theatrical Trailer[]

The_Good_Son_Trailer

The Good Son Trailer

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