Our Son

Starring Luke Evans and Billy Porter, director and co-writer Bill Oliver’s Our Son is a tender and heartfelt portrait of a marital breakup. It’s the queer counterpart to Marriage Story that’s driven by strong performances from the central cast. And while its commentary and pacing can feel a little disjointed at times, Evans and Porter’s outstanding turns underscore the difficulty of their situation.

There’s already a level of dissatisfaction in the relationship when audiences meet Nicky (Evans) and husband Gabriel (Porter) at the start of the film. While Nicky is working continuously in his high-paying job at a publisher, Gabriel is the stay-at-home parent to their eight-year-old son Owen (Christopher Woodley). Nicky feels like his efforts are underappreciated, whereas Gabriel feels that Nicky doesn’t do enough for their child. Gabriel has become so unhappy that he’s started seeing someone else and files for divorce soon afterwards.

From here, the script (co-written by Peter Nickowitz) tentatively examines the situation as the proceedings become more animus, dredging up aspects of humanity at their ugliest and most beautiful. Evans and Porter never miss a beat when it comes to expressing exactly what their characters are going through. Even without knowing much about their relationship beforehand, their impassioned deliveries are enough for audiences to fill in the blanks for themselves.

Oliver likewise uses the characters’ divorce as a jumping-off point to explore related areas. Whereas Evans’s nuanced performance adds weight to discussions on queerness, masculinity and fatherhood, other topics are less successfully woven into the mix. A point about homelessness, for example, though a worthy cause to highlight, is jammed into a scene as a momentary detour before things get back on track.

As the dramatic stakes escalate, so too do the couple’s emotions as they fight for custody of their son. However, the pacing unfortunately takes a knock towards the final act as the flick scrambles towards its endpoint. Although the conclusion hits the intended marks, rushing through key moments of character development detracts from an otherwise touching ending.

Despite some missteps along the way, Evans and Porter’s phenomenal performances ensure that viewers feel every blow of their custody battle.

Andrew Murray

Our Son is released digitally on demand on 25^th March 2024.

Watch the trailer for Our Son here: