Review of My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done (2010) by Noah E — 23 Mar 2011

An unimpressive film that bleeds "We're trying too hard." Completely unrealistic dialogue and scripting as well as poor acting all around (poor being defined here as unrealistic; I have yet to meet anyone in my reality that speaks in the way this movie portrays).

The emotional detachment of all the characters makes the film unrelatable; it is a string of events that do not mesh into an overarching picture with characters who cannot sell a line they pitch, no matter how hard they attempt.

As interesting as a non-linear plot can be, it flops entirely here. Herzog attempts to build on Shannon's inherent craziness with scattered religious ramblings as well as events so over-acted (attempting to buy houses that aren't for sale, pining about ostriches, moments of smothering awkwardness from Zabriskie) that they turn to inanity and become laughable at times.

This film is a poster child for things that could have been, but weren't. What could have been an interesting psychological thriller turns into a bland mish-mash of scenes that do not compile into a coherent story that is markedly scarred by pseudo-religious mysticism disguised as "deep" philosophy.

Though there were some moments of genuine feeling (an overly awkward scene where the mother figures lingers was great), but this film mostly feels like a conglomerate of ideas that do not meld, resulting in a lot of individual things that do not add up to an overall.

The lack of direction in the film was also hugely detrimental. After the "climax," which barely could be labeled as such, I thought to myself "Well, there goes an hour and a half that I can never get back.

" This film presented no stinger; no final words of incredulity, relevance, or anything of the sort. A very poor film that tries far too hard to be artsy, mysteriously religious, and significant that ultimately fails in the entirety of its endeavors.