Hugh Jackman says his role in the film The Son has changed his perspective on parenting completely.
“I think for many, many years, as a parent the job was to appear strong and dependable and never worried, and I don’t want to burden my child, but certainly this movie I’ve changed my approach.
“I share my vulnerabilities with my 17 and 22-year-olds, and I see their relief when I do. So hopefully the movie does start conversations and reminds us to never worry alone, that we’re all in the same boat. Mental health is a crisis everywhere in the world. No one is immune to it.”
The film by Florian Zeller also stars Laura Dern, Vanessa Kirby, Zen McGrath and Anthony Hopkins. It’s a prequel to Zeller’s 2020 Oscar-winning drama The Father.
The story is about Peter whose ex-wife, Kate shows up at the door with his teenage son Nicholas. Peter is thrown a huge curve ball as he is already currently juggling having a baby with his partner Beth and a career opportunity in Washington.
Jackman spoke about what it takes to raise a child alluding to a phrase in the script. ‘Love is not always enough’.
“Everyone in this movie loves so much, but feels a powerlessness at some point. Because the truth is that to raise a child, for all of us, we need a village. We need more than just a mother and a father. We need friends, we need support, we need community, we need teachers. There’s so many people that guide us along the way.”
“This movie really does see how isolated-particularly around mental health issues-people get. There is shame, there is guilt, there is an intense desire to fix things and that it’s somehow my job as a father or as a mother or as friend to fix it. But realising our powerlessness, admitting and leading with that vulnerability, it leads to the possibility of really actually being able to understand and empathize with those people around you to walk in their shoes.”
French playwright Zeller wrote the script for the son during the lockdown in 2020. He said that its part of a trilogy of plays that includes The Father and The Mother.
“It’s so difficult as a parent to make the right decisions and it’s fine. That fact that it’s not easy is part of the journey,” said Zeller.
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