Nobel Son – DVD Review

Is crazy just a choice? What defines crazy?  Is it worse to eat a dead person or eat a man alive?  These are the questions posed in Nobel Son.  This crime-based dramedy written by husband and wife team, Jody Savin and Randall Miller, is… strange.

Barkley Michaelson is a down-on-his-luck student struggling with his thesis on cannibalism and trying to catch the attention of the girl who recites her disturbing poetry at the coffee shop where he studies. Eli Michaelson, his father, is an egotistical, eccentric philanderer who has just won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, something he has always thought he deserved.  Coincidently, he gets something else he deserves.  On the morning he and his family are scheduled to jet off to receive his award, Barkley is kidnapped for $2,000,000 ransom.  Eli refuses to pay it and the family begins to unravel because of lust, greed, and revenge.

The acting in the movie is some of the best I’ve seen in a long time.  Alan Rickman as Eli really understood the character.  Pay attention to the details he throws in; it will make the whole movie worth watching.  He is the comedic relief, the character you love to hate, and the driving force. Shawn Hatosy plays the kidnapper, and he is successfully scary in this role.  Bill Pullman is a charmer as the lead detective on the case.  Bryan Greenberg (Barkley) and Eliza Dushku (City Hall, his love interest) have great chemistry.  She tests his limits, pushing him to see how much he will give, and you can probably assume that like any man confronted by a beautiful woman, he does indeed give.  The clinically-diagnosed crazy neighbor, George, is played by Danny DeVito.  He simultaneously provides important details to the case and complicates matters further with his severe OCD.  Each character has a unique, quirky characteristic.  They are all kind of insane actually.  Five stars for the actors’ performances.

I felt like the mood of the movie was kind of conflicting.  One second it was emotional and dark; the next it was sarcastic and very light-hearted, but not in a cohesive, fun, rollercoaster of emotion way.  It wasn’t really my style.

I also thought the end was unsatisfying.  There are so many events that lead up to what should have been a big dramatic finale, but instead, it is kind of incomplete, just sort of there, leaving you confused and a little uninspired.

The soundtrack really enhances the movie.  There is a nice combination of dramatic score and pumped-up techno beats.  The theme song, Nobel Son by Spitfire, will hopefully be added to my iPod for frequent playing soon.

Special features include two versions of the trailer, some boring deleted scenes, and commentary by the writers and actors, which is actually worth watching because it really helps you appreciate the detail and thought that went into the movie.

All in all, Nobel Son is very twisted and very funny.  Fans of 21 and The Perfect Score should definitely give it a chance.  The story surrounds a few very intelligent characters and is, therefore, a great way to expand your vocabulary and learn some random facts.  If you are ever confused about the true definition of crazy, watch this movie.  It will become clear by the end of the story, if not by the first scene.

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