DVD Review: Nobel Son

Directed By: Randall Miller
Written By: Jody Savin and Randall Miller
Produced By: Jody Savin and Randall Miller
Starring: Alan Rickman, Bryan Greenberg, Shawn Hatosy, Mary Steenburgen, Bill Pullman, Eliza Dushku and Danny DeVito

What better way to make easy cash than from stealing it from your own father? With a very calculated plan, it could easily be pulled off without becoming a suspect. Nobel Son, directed by Randall Miller, is a crime film that is sure to keep the viewers watching to see just how far a man will go to reach his desires.

From the very start, we can see the tension between Eli Michaelson (Alan Rickman) and his son, Barkley Michaelson (Bryan Greenberg). After learning the news that his father had won the Nobel Prize, Barkley had felt that Eli had done nothing to deserve it. However, out of duty, Barkley attends the Nobel party. From this, we learn more about Eli's character; an attention grabbing, obnoxious doctor committing adultery. Both, Barkley and Sarah Michaelson (Mary Steenburgen) are unaware of Eli's unfaithfulness.

Bored of the party, Barkley escapes to see a group of poets reader at a local bookstore. He particularly goes to see City Hall (Eliza Dushku), a girl he's never held a conversation with. After a bit of small talk, City invites him to tag along. Several hours later and a stop at an ATM machine, City takes Barkley to her home. It is there he gets to know her better.

It is soon after that Barkley gets kidnapped. To get his revenge, Thaddeus James (Shawn Hatosy) holds Barkley for ransom. But Eli is unfazed, or rather, indifferent. While Barkley is desperate to keep his life, Eli just brushes it off as a prank. Only when he receives a human thumb in the mail does things start to get serious.

While Eli and Sarah, well mostly Sarah, begin to become impatient, Barkley has now struck a deal with Thaddeus; each of them will get half of the money. They come up with an elaborate plan that will assure their escape. And according to plan, it works.

This may seem like where the movie ends, however, this is not true. To go his own separate way is now not enough for Thaddeus. As a side plan, it was made to look as if the entire plot was Barkley's idea; a set up. This was for one goal. Thaddeus never had a father to look up to and now he is aiming for Barkley's. Even though Barkley hates his father, this is all just too much for him. Barkley wants Thaddeus out of his life and will stoop to any level to do it. With the help of his mother, Barkley comes up with a plan of his own. It is one that will require all his wits to pull off.

Overall the movie was an entertaining watch. However, it did not really have the viewer watching at the edge of their seats. There were a few twists in the story that prolonged it. But none of them were so shocking, but rather, they were almost predictable.

There were also some inconsistencies within the movie. It would seem almost unbelievable that Sarah, an FBI agent, would rent out a room to a stranger without first checking his background. You would think that this was the first thing she would have done instead of waiting until problems arise.

The movie is fun to watch and that is all that it is. There are no nail-biting scenes that should be included within a crime story-line. There is hardly any type of action. This game is played all within the mind, but even that is fully explained to the viewer. What makes a crime movie work is the suspense and thrill of the chase. But Nobel Son lacks even those two basic elements.