Tribeca Film Festival 2023: OUR SON

There are a variety of aspects that draw me to a film. From stills to directors, from genre to actor, there is no set formula that drives my cinematic interest. For Bill Oliver‘s Our Son, it was the two leads at the heart of its story – Billy Porter and Luke Evans. Each has delivered outstanding performances through both film and television over the years, and the pairing intrigued me. After learning this LGBTQ-focused film follows the dissolution of marriage and the custody battle of a shared son, I could not wait to see the range both actors had the potential to deliver. And Our Son does not disappoint.

At times heavy-hearted, others cathartic, Our Son transcends many of the breakup films before it, uniquely imbuing the grey areas of separation in a dissolving relationship. There is no black and white, no clear-cut sense of feeling or direction during a break-up, but rather a changing mix bag of emotional strain, desire, and fight. Put a child into the mix and it makes the separation of former lovers more complicated and heartbreaking. Our Son is not afraid to lean into the ugly as much as it is into the beautiful.

The Weight of Performance

As I was watching Our Son, the dissolution of love falling to pieces before me, I found myself thinking back to The Break-Up and how I had never wanted to see that film again, the deeply ingrained hate in the film drowning a comedic relief it attempted. As Our Son worked through its first act, I wasn’t sure if this was a film I was going to want to return to either. But following the conclusion of Our Son, there is a feeling of catharsis and release that makes you want to return, giving the same sense of redefined love that was present following Marriage Story.

Much of this success hangs on the performances of Billy Porter and Luke Evans. Oliver has crafted two dramatically different individuals, both in ambition and personality. Porter and Evans display an awareness not only of the differences they each possess but the successes and strain these differences have placed on their relationship over the years. It feels lived in and authentic, a lifetime of love and loss leading to one moment. And when that moment comes, viewers will find themselves working through a mixed bag of emotions and opinions on the two characters before them. You will feel you need to choose a side, only to realize the side you were leaning towards was never better or worse than the other.

Porter‘s Gabriel is our emotional grounding as Evan‘s Nicky feels more pragmatic. For Porter, there is an endless well of emotion pouring from his eyes, extreme closeups capturing each and every moment. The purest moments in the film come from Porter, his eyes the expressive emotive of love. Yet, just as equally that of pain. His Gabriel at times feels as though it is bordering on complete control and complete loss of his emotions, and Porter straddles the line well. Yet, the same can be said for Evans, his Nicky shedding the pragmatic nature at his core in the midst of heartache, confusion, and loss. For both, much of this loss of control comes from the void left in the wake of their dissolution and the potential loss of their son, and the awareness of every emotional element makes these career standout performances.

Conclusion

A cathartically devastating film, Our Son reaches deep into the wells of emotion, delivering a well-constructed breakdown of love on the shoulders of two actors at the top of their game. And while the film does feel its runtime at various points, Porter and Evans ground their audience in place until the final moments, Our Son cathartically releasing them from its grasp.

Watch Our Son