My Son (2021)

My Son has a rare, nerve-on-the-surface immediacy: James McAvoy performed without scripted dialogue, and you can feel that raw uncertainty in every breath, like the movie is happening to him in real time. Christian Carion wraps the search in chilly, rain-slick atmosphere and steady dread, letting the Scottish landscape and tight close-ups do as much storytelling as the words. It’s a lean, anxious thriller that keeps tightening the screws, powered by McAvoy’s ferocious urgency and Claire Foy’s grounded ache as two parents pulled apart by history and pulled together by terror. Fair warning: it’s intense and often grim, with violence and disturbing implications, but if you want a crime drama that feels frighteningly immediate, this one grabs hold and doesn’t let go.

My Son is clearly aiming for a tense, boots-on-the-ground missing-child thriller, and the gimmick of James McAvoy working without scripted dialogue is meant to make the panic feel raw and immediate. The problem is that the experiment often shows: scenes can feel meandering, emotions spike without much buildup, and the story leans on familiar thriller beats without the sharp plotting needed to make them land. If you need airtight logic, clean pacing, and a mystery that feels carefully constructed, this may come off as messy and frustrating rather than gripping. Still, if you’re willing to trade narrative precision for a more improvisational, frantic energy—and you can handle some very dark material—there are moments where the desperation and atmosphere do hit.