Netflix has just added a dark mystery thriller movie

Stephen Porzio

Starring two major actors, the film was made in a unique and fascinating way.

Netflix has just added the dark mystery thriller movie My Son, starring James McAvoy, to its library.

The film sees the Split and X-Men actor play a Scottish man named Edmond, who is estranged from his seven-year-old son on account of his sensitive covert international work.

However, when he gets a call from his ex-wife Joan (Claire Foy, The Crown) that his boy has gone missing, Edmond drives into the heart of the Scottish highlands to investigate and find the culprits for the disappearance.

Mystery thriller My Son is now streaming on Netflix

First released in Ireland in 2022 on Prime Video, My Son sees acclaimed filmmaker Christian Carion (Farewell, Joyeux Noel) remake his own earlier French thriller of the same name.

And what makes both the original and remake distinct from other similar types of movies was the way in which it was made, whereby the lead actors were not given a script.

So, in the case of the English-language version, McAvoy was only aware of the basic aspects of the story.

As such, he was forced to improvise and react in character to each moment in the plot as it unfolded. This was as the other actors in the movie had full knowledge of the screenplay.

The goal of this was to have both the “lead actor and audience uncover the mystery at the exact same time”.

You can see a clip of McAvoy talking about the process on The Graham Norton Show right here:

While My Son received mixed reviews from critics, it earned some praise for its inventive approach and for McAvoy’s committed central performance.

You can see a sample of these positive write-ups below:

Blu-ray.com: “Carion preserves the material’s areas of agony and suspicion with a slightly bigger budget and more concentration on nail-biting elements of discovery.”

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews: “Keeps intact the original’s trauma, gloom and edginess.”

Film Focus Online: “The highlight of My Son is easily its acting. Though many may see McAvoy’s improvised performance as a gimmick, he stole the show and created a character worth rooting for.”

Movie Nation: “It’s not Taken but that’s one of the chief appeals in McAvoy’s character and his performance of him. He ensures we don’t necessarily know what’s coming because he’s damned good at making us think he doesn’t know either.”

My Son is streaming on Netflix in Ireland and the UK right now. It is also available to watch on Peacock for US viewers.

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