You Will Be My Son
Cohen Media Group | Release Date: August 16, 2013 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
67
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 18 Critic Reviews
Positive:
12
Mixed:
6
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
83
The PlaylistGabe ToroMay 6, 2013
There’s a ton of truth and ugliness to You Will Be My Son, and the minor digressions into soapy territory keep threatening to derail. It never does thanks to Arstrup, a force of nature who grabs his scenes by the throat and never lets go. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranSep 11, 2013
A strongly acted, character-driven melodrama, concerned with the dynamics of family in general and father-son issues in particular, it presents situations so emotionally supercharged that the whole story could have come straight out of Balzac. Read full review
80
The New York TimesStephen HoldenAug 15, 2013
[A] beautifully acted movie. Read full review
80
Time OutEric HynesAug 13, 2013
It’s a human-size tragedy, one that shows how deadening it can be to remain subject to those who give us life. Read full review
80
VarietyBoyd van HoeijMay 6, 2013
There are no big surprises in store in terms of where this setup is headed...But the pic’s pleasures are nonetheless numerous, starting with its talented cast. Read full review
80
Total FilmPhilip KempMay 6, 2013
Writer/director Gilles Legrand’s study of fraught father/son relationships builds the tension, helped by a fine cast...while the vineyards of Bordeaux offer a deceptively serene backdrop. Read full review
80
EmpireDavid ParkinsonMay 6, 2013
Lustrous photography and a fine cast make this dark drama a compelling one. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleG. Allen JohnsonSep 19, 2013
How much you enjoy You Will Be My Son depends on how much you can take an unbearable, arrogant jerk as your lead character. Read full review
75
New York PostFarran Smith NehmeAug 15, 2013
It’s an entertaining melodrama of the old school that plays out with the clockwork inevitability of a “Columbo” episode. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckMay 6, 2013
The film overcomes its schematic plot elements with finely observed characterizations and rich dialogue. Read full review
63
Washington PostStephanie MerrySep 27, 2013
You Will Be My Son is not a subtle movie. Some of the characterizations and music feel heavy-handed, and one major plot point late in the film feels inauthentic. Read full review
63
ObserverMatthew KasselAug 13, 2013
Mr. Arestrup gives a full-bodied performance as the film’s most intriguing character, who blurs the line between senile irascibility and out and out malice. Read full review
60
Village VoiceStaff [Not Credited]Aug 13, 2013
With a Shakespearean set of family conflicts, the film can’t help but engage, aided supremely by Arestrup, who struts his hour and 40 minutes onscreen with the magnetism of a bitter, baleful lion in winter. Read full review
60
The TelegraphRobbie CollinMay 6, 2013
As metaphors for life go, wine has a very high yield, and Gilles Legrand’s sensitive screenplay tramples out every last drop of juice. Read full review
60
The GuardianPeter BradshawMay 6, 2013
It's all a bit absurd, but Legrand handles the absurdity with some style, and there is something clever in making an apparently minor character responsible for a major narrative flourish. An enjoyable spectacle. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloAug 14, 2013
With this basic conflict established early on, You Will Be My Son endlessly spins its wheels, offering up scene after scene of Deutsch screwing up, or just plain existing, and Arestrup tossing deeply disgusted glances in his direction. Read full review
50
The DissolveNoel MurrayAug 15, 2013
You Will Be My Son works best when it’s at its most unforced, and when the world of wine-making—with its anticipation of the season’s cycles and its fascination with subtle changes in flavor—intersects naturally with the life of a European business leader who has skewed priorities. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineAndrew SchenkerAug 11, 2013
For all of the director's willingness to explore his characters' unexpected depths, he's still hamstrung by his perpetually tasteful cinema-of-quality aesthetic. Read full review
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