SYNOPSICS
Nobel Son (2007) is a English movie. R. Martin Miller has directed this movie. Alan Rickman,Bryan Greenberg,Shawn Hatosy,Mary Steenburgen are the starring of this movie. It was released in 2007. Nobel Son (2007) is considered one of the best Comedy,Crime,Drama,Thriller movie in India and around the world.
Barkley Michaelson is in a deep life rut. He's struggling to finish his PhD thesis when his father, the learned Eli Michaelson, wins the Nobel Prize for Chemistry. Barkley and his mother, Sarah, a renowned forensic psychiatrist, now have the ill-fortune of living with a man-eating monster whose philandering ways have gotten less and less discrete. As if Barkley's world is not bad enough, on the eve of his father receiving the Nobel, Barkley is kidnapped and the requested ransom is the $2,000,000 in Nobel prize money. Needless to say, Eli refuses to pay it and so starts a venomous tale of familial dysfunction, lust, betrayal and ultimately revenge. In the words of Michel De Montaigne, the 16th century philosopher: "There is more barbarity in eating a man alive than in eating him dead."
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Nobel Son (2007) Reviews
Darkly comedic psychological thriller which delights
I attended the World Premiere of Nobel Son at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival. That's Nobel as in Nobel Prize, and it takes the festival prize in my book. This winning film, from writer/director/producer/editor Randall Miller (did he make lunch too?), is on my list of Top 10 Picks from among the 30 I saw at this year's festival. Professor Eli Michaelson (Alan Rickman) is about to win the Nobel Prize. His son Barkley (Bryan Greenberg) is a promising Ph.D. candidate wanting little to do with his father's pomposity. A scheme is hatched which is sure to pit father against son in a way to maximize their inherent rivalry. Let the madness and mayhem begin. In addition to Greenberg and Rickman, Nobel Son stars a troupe of talented veterans including Bill Pullman, Shawn Hatosy, Danny DeVito, Mary Steenburgen, Ted Danson, Ernie Hudson, and Eliza Dushku. It's always hard to single anyone out in such an amazing ensemble cast. Greenberg, the titular son, is a worthy protagonist. The roller coaster ride on which he is taken is chilling, yet his upper crust background and bravado veneer cannot hide his childlike innocence. It is that vulnerability which sucks us in and compels us to look even when we would rather look away. Shawn Hatosy is one of the most prolific and versatile young actors in the business, and he is frighteningly brilliant here. The intensity he brings to this role never lets up from start to finish. Nobody is better at psycho-scary. Many will be blown away by his performance. If he wasn't on your radar before he will be after you see Nobel Son. Alan Rickman provides most of the comic relief in a film that is much more dark than comedic. A lesser actor could have turned in an over-the-top performance which might have tipped the scales in favor of the lighter side of this film. That would have spoiled the intensity of the violent escapades these young men partake in. But he manages to play the buffoon as only a legend can. I was quite surprised by the look and feel of this film. It's much more stylized than one might expect. Digital effects and clever camera work help take what could have been a standard caper movie (a la Oceans 11) and turn it into a psychological thriller, emphasis on the thrills. It is such a fascinating story and an amazing script, and kudos to Randall Miller for being able to create a work which defies categorization. Gasps and laughs are traded back and forth, yet it manages to toe the line between comedy and tragedy without losing its focus. If Kubrick inhaled nitrous oxide while making A Clockwork Orange, it might look something like Nobel Son. It will keep you on the edge of your seat, literally. Nobel Son is a breathtaking, refreshing escape from convention.
A Mask, a Thumb and a Couple of Plans
Greetings again from the darkness. "Bottle Shock" director Randall Miller is back ... only "Nobel Son" was filmed first (you really have to love the Hollywood system). While "Bottle Shock" was a pretty straight forward re-telling of a wine industry break through, this film takes us on a dark ride with blazingly quick turns. It can be taken as a entertaining thriller/who-dunnit to who, or even as a psychological study on egotistical, domineering parents. Much of the "Bottle Shock" crew is back ... Alan Rickman, Bill Pullman and Eliza Dushka. Add Mary Steenburgen, Shawn Hatosy (Outside Providence, The Cooler), Danny Devito and Ted Dansen, and you have an odd, but talented cast to deliver your odd, but entertaining film. Alan Rickman plays the role he seems born to play ... arrogant self-diagnosed genius. His family and co-workers somehow tolerate him despite his blindness to their own talents. This is especially problematic once Rickman becomes a Nobel Prize winner. Without giving anything away, his son, played by Bryan Greenberg (Prime) is kidnapped and held for the $2 million Nobel prize money ... by a guy with ties to Rickman's character. That is the simple part. After that, the script flies through its twists and turns creating quite a mess of fun! Bill Pullman is the detective on the case and he draws from his voice pattern as the odd realtor in "You Kill Me", all while pining for Steenburgen ... who is a brilliant forensic expert in her own right. Danny Devito takes an odd turn as the Reformed OCD gardener who has a couple of memorable scenes. Eliza Duska (the bar owner in Bottle Shock) is quite memorable as the stunningly dark poet who captures Nobel Son's heart the evening before he is nabbed. Coincidence??? What I find most interesting about the script is that it could have focused on any number of story lines. Steenburgen, Rickman and Dushka all have characters that could be developed further. But it really works here to have the division and balance. My only warning here is to be prepared for a Guy Ritchie-type experience. There are times of rapid-fire edits and crazy techno-mod music that will challenge your ability to follow along and keep up. I believe it just adds to the fun in this case.
Crazy is just a choice Nobel Son
I admit that I love dark comedies. Something about the mixture of violence, thrills, and comedy just make a perfect amalgam of cinema to entertain my slightly off-kilter sensibilities. When I saw that the film Nobel Son was opening up at the local theatre, I vaguely recalled that the trailer seemed interesting and the cast recognizable. So I said what the hey? I think that the closest cousin I can manage to cull from memory would be the great, underrated gem Suicide Kings from a few years back. Randall Miller's film isn't quite as entertaining as that one, but as far as tone and feel go, it resembles it well. Rather then a truly great story that stands up besides the jokes, a la In Bruges, Nobel Son falls into the trap of having many kooky characters that just happen to enter each other's lives to allow for the shenanigans. It feels as though the people were created first and then the story second, letting the puzzle pieces fall into place. Don't get me wrong, the eccentric players are part of the charm, I just would have liked them to be a bit more real than so obviously playing for jokes and clichés. The tale itself isn't anything really new. Take any old kidnapping plot where the victim becomes a part of the plan and double-crossing soon takes over upon completion; erase a few adjectives and verbs; and Mad Libs in the blanks to freshen it up. A jerk of a father wins the Nobel Prize for his work in the field of chemistry, whereupon a man who may or may not be his illegitimate child, whose mother's husband is whom the father's winning work was stolen from, decides to kidnap the man's true son for the two million dollar purse. It's a bit convoluted and Miller enjoys throwing in chemistry jargon throughout to impress us, whether what is spoken about molecules is even true, don't ask me, I kind of zoned during those passages. However, the highly coincidental series of events and relationships does allow for it all to come together. The kidnapped son ends up proving to his assailant that he'd love to get back at his father any way he can, and the two hatch an elaborate plan, involving the full reconstruction of a car within two hours, to steal the money clean and not let anyone get hurt besides an innocent man soon to be without a thumb. Throw in a beautiful, yet insane girl, who you know is involved more than let on; a detective on the case who is also in love with the hostage's mother, a co-worker; and a "reformed" obsessive-compulsive tenant, and you can understand how off the wall it could potentially get. Again, the story is pretty airtight and coherent, besides some logistical questions like putting a working car together in that short of time by one man, putting a car in an above the garage apartment, (I think you have to look the other way on this one), and just the sheer amount of photos and documents that are readily available to prove guilt. As far as motivations and intelligence, all that is understood and believable. No one here is really likable at all; everyone has an agenda and whether it took the events in the film for some to act on them or not, they definitely weren't innocents. The Michaelsons are one messed up family that deserves the chaos, but revenge is always served best cold, I guess. And maybe it really is more vicious to devour a man while he is still alive then dead. Those story elements all pretty much run their course without pause, so one doesn't get much opportunity to question it, or care whether it is all kosher. Instead, the real focus is on the characters. Those that standout are the ones with the most issues. Sure Alan Rickman does his usual smarmy best as the aging lothario professor with an ego that cannot be measured and Mary Steenburgen plays the cerebral analyst, always looking and deciphering things before the cops on the case can, but that kind of stuff is expected. Even the star, Bryan Greenberg's Barkley, the son of the aforementioned actors, does his norm. Add a few corny, cheeseball lines, 80's music, and delete the bloodyou'd think he came right out of "October Road". No, where the genius lies is in the criminals and supporting roles. Shawn Hatosy, as the half brother/mastermind, has made a career out of playing semi-intelligent headcases that switch from harmless innocence to manic, homicidal delinquency. His Thaddeus James is the perfect villain here because what he does has merit, so when it all starts to unravel, his compassion is believable. My favorites, though, are Eliza Dushku as the love interest and Danny DeVito as the obsessive-compulsive. DeVito is hysterical as Gastner, going through his mental checklists in a calculating monotone and nervous disgust. But if you want true insanity, Dushku delivers in spades. As City Hall, she is one messed up deviant. A psychopath girlfriend type, her actions and artwork juxtaposed with her beauty and sexuality would make any guy confused and willing to play along. Nobel Son is a nice entry to the genre and a character piece with a lot of good. I appreciate that Miller tries to be creative and add his own flair, but in doing so, the aesthetic becomes a bit ho-hum and ordinary. The sharp cuts and blurring tricks help deflect what we see until the truth is revealed, and the close-up camera work helps add a layer of detail for us to enter the movie, yet it's all been done before. Even a gimmick that works at times becomes a little overkill with its abundance, however, that final ticker-typed name and occupation caption made all the others before it worth the trouble.
An Entertaining Dark Comedy
I love Alan Rickman in anything especially here where he plays a vain, selfish Nobel Laureate chemistry professor, Eli Michaelson. He plays it beautifully. If Alan would reconsider, he should be awarded and accept British knighthood but he has declined in the past. Mary Steenburgen is wonderful as the long suffering wife and mother. Eli's son, Barkley, learns some surprising facts and truths about his beloved father. Eli isn't so keen on giving up his money. There are plenty of memorable moments in the film like the car chase in the mall. Danny DeVito has a features role as their tenant. The cast is marvelous and the story is entertaining as well. It's nice to see Mary Steenburgen in a role worthy of her talent.
Too many writers spoiled the story
I was really looking forward to "Nobel Son". I was thinking, finally, an intelligent thriller that is going to focus on the characteristics of those found in the academic sciences. But I'm afraid that all I got was a jumbled mess that never really accomplished anything. The son of a Nobel Prize-winning chemist is kidnapped for ransom. There are a lot of interesting ways to take this story. The main problem is, they take all of them. We have an opportunity to investigate what's really going on in the mind of the son, how has his father affected his life, why does the father live his life the way he does, who is really responsible for the kidnapping and why... . The ways to explore this story are endless, and instead of delving in whole-heartedly, all that came out was a jumbled mess that left me feeling frustrated with no invested knowledge in any part of the story. Another review said the problem was too many cooks. I second that, and will adapt the phrase from "too many cooks spoil the broth" to "too many writers spoil the story". Only two screenwriters were credited, but I'm willing to bet there were more with their hands in it. The actors were all quite good, I'm sure. It's the characters that I'm more confused about. Whenever they presented a scene which echoed my experiences in the ivory tower of science, they usually followed that up with a scene that didn't make sense based on what we knew about the characters. Perhaps I was focusing too much on specifics, but I was continuously confused and frustrated by their characterization and story ideas. Too many writers, ideas, and lack of focus spoiled "Nobel Son".