The Son's Room

This was something I was asked to watch for my screenwriting workshops. I'm not that informed about Nanni Moretti, although I know a little. He's one of Italy's biggest exports and before this film was famed for his comedies. Here he acts, writes and directs in a drama about a grieving Italian family.

Moretti plays the father of the family, a placid shrink who takes life at a leisurely pace. He appears to live a relatively contented life with his pretty wife and their two teenage children. Towards the beginning of the film his son is accused of stealing something from school and the father is called in to deal with the situation. The father is rational and calm about the situation, quietly trying to dissect the truth behind the lies. Perhaps this is a merging of his work as a shrink with his personal life. Although there are many small events like this in the film which seem unimportant, they actually help us gain insight into the character and the way they deal with situations.

Moretti's character gears his children (and their reluctant mother) towards sport. The girl plays netball for her local team, the boy plays tennis and the father goes running regularly. Again, could this be the idea of the shrink filtering through? In one of his meetings with a bored, hyperactive patient he recommends that she takes up a sport to fill her time. He consoles her by saying he too is boring. The suggestion is that he perhaps channels his emotions into stimulants such as his sport and his work.

The patients provide a juxtaposition against his home life. Here in his office he tends to sex addicts, suicidals and attention seekers, all looking for some relief. His family in contrast seem well adjusted and fully functional. Often the scenes are cut short to a few exchanged words; the patient will talk of their problems and maybe criticise the shrink, then the shrink will offer a reason or solution. There is little resolution to the characters problems, which seems a more realistic portrait of psychiatry

The cosiness of the film is shattered when the son is killed in a diving accident. Moretti is guilt ridden because he feels he could have prevented the death. The relationship between the father and mother disintegrates, and the small cracks at the start of the film emerge as canyons. A comparison could be made with the 2001 American drama 'In the bedroom'. They both deal with the aftermath of a son's death. I think 'The Son's Room' is a better film, because it is more emotionally engaging and the central character is more interesting. Both films though, are somewhat stylized in their depiction of family grievances. They tell the story, but only offer a small part of the process.

What I also found interesting about Moretti's film was the overall look of the film. There was little artistic licence in the lighting of the film-it seemed to me more TV soap than film. The colour pallette is bright and clean, and the mise-en-scene cosily sketched out. It's not really a detraction necessarily, but it did catch my eye.

7/10