My Son, My Son What Have Ye Done (2009/Absurda/First Look DVD)
Picture: C
Sound: C+ Extras: C- Film: C-
Werner Herzog has been flirting with American crime
narrative films lately and following his hilarious misstep with the Bad Lieutenant remake, he has teamed up
with David Lynch as producer to helm the highly problematic My Son, My Son What Have Ye Done (2009)
where he tries to do a film with the auteuristic characteristics of a Lynch
film, but is not Lynch and cannot find his way to integrate his not always
distinctive approach into it.
With a screenplay he penned with collaborator Herbert
Golder, we get the mixed tale (in both its failure and its non-linear
unspooling on film) about a crazed young man (Michael Shannon from Revolutionary Road) possibly holding
someone hostage, having killed his mother with a Samurai Sword, also possibly
killing a group of people on a rafting trip and is upsetting an entire suburban
neighborhood. Two cops (Willem Dafoe and
Michael Pena) try to help, as we try to piece together what exactly is
happening.
Tough the cast is engaging and the only reason I did not
fall asleep, I thought this never worked on any level, is everything we have
seen before and the weight of attempting something on the Lynch frequency never
works out. The cast also includes the
underrated Chloe Sevigny as his girlfriend, Grace Zabriskie as his
old-fashioned mother, Udo Kier, Irma P. Hall, Brad Dourif, Verne Troyer and
Loretta Devine. In this case, you might
want to see for yourself, but don’t expect much.
The anamorphically enhanced 1.85 X 1 image was shot with
the 4K RED ONE HD camera and with its stylizing, has some color limits, definition
& detail limits and an overall washed out look too often to be as engaging
as a Herzog or Lynch film usually is.
Director of Photography Peter Zeitlinger has lensed Herzog’s last few
films, but this is not as good looking as Rescue
Dawn or Bad Lieutenant: Port Of Call
– New Orleans, both of which made Blu-ray and are reviewed elsewhere on
this site. Also, can the Lynch look work
on HD? We’ll explore that another
time. The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is
mostly quiet and dialogue-based, so don’t expect a great soundfield, though
some of the sound design has some good character just the same.
Extras include trailers, previews, interviews, Ramin
Bahrani’s Plastic Bag short narrated by Herzog and a feature length audio
commentary track by Herzog.
- Nicholas Sheffo
