When it comes to British actors, there is none of a higher calibre than Billy Nighy. From his motion-capture performance as Davy Jones in Pirates of the Caribbean and comedic washed-up rocker in Love Actually, to his Oscar-nominated turn in 2022’s Living, Nighy is a veteran you can always count on. His latest turn is another dramatic affair that sees him surrounded by fellow British talent in & Sons, based on the 2013 novel by David Gilbert.
Nighy plays acclaimed novelist Andrew Dyer, who has led a legendary career but is now a recluse who no longer practices his craft. He has spent the last twenty years in his study either drunk, blaring music, yelling at the walls and shutting himself off from his family. He lives with his youngest son Andy (Noah Jupe), who is the product of an affair he had that ruined his marriage with Isabel (Imelda Staunton), with whom he shares two other sons. Jamie (George MacKay) and Richard (Johnny Flynn) haven’t spoken to their father in years, so are surprised when he invites them to his home to reunite. Believing he finally wants to make amends, they agree to come and also meet Andy for the first time. However, Andrew instead shares an unbelievable revelation about young Andy to Jamie and Richard, one that has them questioning their reality and rewriting their entire family’s history.
To share the revelation itself would be to spoil the film’s main twist, which really does strike a heavier cord when going in blind. The twist occurs quite early on, and will definitely change the audience’s perception of the kind of movie they are watching. At first & Sons seems like your run-of-the-mill British drama, but the story takes a deviation that is bold and intriguing. It is quite a shame then that the remainder of the film largely fails to deliver on this complex premise. While evidently trying to explore themes of family, legacy, trauma and identity, the script feels like it just scratches the surface of these, and as a result, comes off as unfocused. It doesn’t help that the pacing is notably sluggish, taking far too much time for set-up that it feels like there isn’t much payoff. This is driven home by an underwhelming ending that leaves story threads feeling unresolved and the film’s message as a whole unclear.
Luckily, we have some of England’s finest actors working together, and that in itself saves the film. Nighy and Staunton do most of the heavy lifting and put in excellent dramatic work that is a testament to both of their careers. Then, you have three of Britain’s buzziest young actors, Noah Jupe (A Quiet Place, Hamnet), George MacKay (1917, Pride) and Johnny Flynn (Beast, Emma), all delivering solid turns (yet they are still eclipsed by their older co-stars). Ultimately, the cast as a whole do the best they can with a script that doesn’t fully serve them.
& Sons delivers a thought-provoking and unique premise, but explores it in a way that is forgettable and somewhat unsatisfying. These actors deserve better material to work with.
