Tribeca 2023 review: Luke Evans and Billy Porter shine in ‘OUR SON,’ a very personal modern-day family drama.

OUR SON



Billy Porter and Luke Evans return to Tribeca playing partners of thirteen years. Billy stars as Gabriel, an aspiring artist struggling to find creative and personal spark while caring for the young son he shares with his ambitious partner, Nicky (Luke Evans). Stress and anxiety flare as their relationship gets to an unrepairable place, forcing the couple to head for a divorce. Now the two must navigate the unenviable position of revealing the news to shared friends and family. Thus begins the journey to find themselves and support their son.


Luke Evans plays Nicky with a workhorse attitude that comes off as dismissive and arrogant against Billy Porter’s caregiver grace. This dynamic rings authentic for me as the default parent in my marriage. Porter nails every aspect, from his sing-songy tone of voice with Owen to the hesitancy to speak up for his emotional needs. Seeing myself on screen hit hard. While I’ve not had to go through divorce and custody dynamics, I have had these “come to Jesus” moments with my husband. I’ve been lucky.

Both Evans and Porter give us their all in these roles. Watching them navigate the complexities of an evolving relationship is heartbreaking but universally relatable, regardless of your romantic circumstance. Love is complicated and messy. Christopher Woodley as Owen is outstanding. He captures the boundless curiosity and impressionable innocence of a child his age. Writer-director Bill Oliver and co-writer Peter Nickowitz‘s dialogue could be taken directly from my world as a wife, parent, and friend.

OUR SON greatly benefits from two standout supporting performances. Andrew Rannells‘s sarcastic yet caring presence grounds the relationship between Nicky and Gabriel. He is spectacular in every role he tackles. Phylicia Rashad plays Gabriel’s mother, and the pairing is pure magic.

OUR SON is a story of a family trying to figure out what’s best for their child and each other. The characters are fully fleshed-out flawed humans working their way through ever-changing feelings of emotional security. You cannot help but connect with them through the good, the bad, and the ugly.


DIRECTOR
Bill Oliver
PRODUCER
Fernando Loureiro, Eric Binns, Guilherme Coelho, Jennifer 8. Lee, Christopher Lin
SCREENWRITER
Peter Nickowitz, Bill Oliver
CINEMATOGRAPHER
Luca Fantini
EDITOR
Zach Clark, Tyler Jensen
CAST
Billy Porter, Luke Evans, Robin Weigert, Andrew Rannells, Isaac Powell, Phylicia Rashad

In Person

Sat June 10 – 2:00 PM
PASSED
Closed Captions available

 

Sun June 11 – 3:30 PM
PASSED
Closed Captions available

 

Wed June 14 – 8:30 PM
Closed Captions available

 

The First Trailer for the Upcoming ‘Creed’ Movie is Here!

creedbarThe first trailer for the upcoming Rocky spin-off Creed has arrived and we have it for you below!

From Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema comes award-winning filmmaker Ryan Coogler’s Creed. The film explores a new chapter in the Rocky story and stars Academy Award nominee Sylvester Stallone in his iconic role. The film also reunites Coogler with his Fruitvale Station star Michael B. Jordan as the son of Apollo Creed.

Adonis Johnson (Jordan) never knew his famous father, world heavyweight champion Apollo Creed, who died before he was born. Still, there’s no denying that boxing is in his blood, so Adonis heads to Philadelphia, the site of Apollo Creed’s legendary match with a tough upstart named Rocky Balboa.

Once in the City of Brotherly Love, Adonis tracks Rocky (Stallone) down and asks him to be his trainer. Despite his insistence that he is out of the fight game for good, Rocky sees in Adonis the strength and determination he had known in Apollo—the fierce rival who became his closest friend. Agreeing to take him on, Rocky trains the young fighter, even as the former champ is battling an opponent more deadly than any he faced in the ring.

With Rocky in his corner, it isn’t long before Adonis gets his own shot at the title…but can he develop not only the drive but also the heart of a true fighter, in time to get into the ring?

Creed also stars Tessa Thompson (Selma, Dear White People) as Bianca, a local singer-songwriter who becomes involved with Adonis; Phylicia Rashad (Lifetime’s “Steel Magnolias”) as Mary Anne Creed, Apollo’s widow; and English pro boxer and former three-time ABA Heavyweight Champion Anthony Bellew as boxing champ “Pretty” Ricky Conlan.

Coogler directs from a screenplay he wrote with Aaron Covington, based on characters from the Rocky series written by Sylvester Stallone. The film is being produced by Robert Chartoff, Irwin Winkler, Charles Winkler, William Chartoff, David Winkler, Kevin King Templeton and Sylvester Stallone, with Nicholas Stern executive producing.

Joining Coogler behind the scenes are director of photography Maryse Alberti (The Wrestler) and costume designers Antoinette Messam (Orphan) and Emma Potts (127 Hours), as well as his Fruitvale Station team: editors Michael P. Shawver and Claudia Castello; production designer Hannah Beachler; and composer Ludwig Göransson.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures present, in association with New Line Cinema, a Chartoff Winkler Production, Creed. Opening on November 25, 2015, the film will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, with select international territories as well as all television distribution being handled by MGM.

 

Warner Bros. Releases Synopsis of the New Rocky Spinoff ‘Creed’

WB

From Warner Bros. Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures comes award-winning filmmaker Ryan Coogler’s Creed.  The film explores a new chapter in the “Rocky” story and stars Academy Award nominee Sylvester Stallone in his iconic role.  The film also reunites Coogler with his Fruitvale Station star Michael B. Jordan as the son of Apollo Creed.

Adonis Johnson (Jordan) never knew his famous father, world heavyweight champion Apollo Creed, who died before he was born.  Still, there’s no denying that boxing is in his blood, so Adonis heads to Philadelphia, the site of Apollo Creed’s legendary match with a tough upstart named Rocky Balboa.

Once in the City of Brotherly Love, Adonis tracks Rocky (Stallone) down and asks him to be his trainer.  Despite his insistence that he is out of the fight game for good, Rocky sees in Adonis the strength and determination he had known in Apollo—the fierce rival who became his closest friend.  Agreeing to take him on, Rocky trains the young fighter, even as the former champ is battling an opponent more deadly than any he faced in the ring.

With Rocky in his corner, it isn’t long before Adonis gets his own shot at the title…but can he develop not only the drive but also the heart of a true fighter, in time to get into the ring?

Creed also stars Tessa Thompson (Selma) as Bianca, a local singer-songwriter who becomes involved with Adonis; Phylicia Rashad (Lifetime’s Steel Magnolias) as Mary Anne Creed, Apollo’s widow; and English pro boxer and former three-time ABA Heavyweight Champion Anthony Bellew as boxing champ “Pretty” Ricky Conlan.

Coogler directs from a screenplay he wrote with Aaron Covington, based on characters from the Rocky series written by Sylvester Stallone.  The film is being produced by Robert Chartoff, Irwin Winkler, Charles Winkler, William Chartoff, David Winkler, Sylvester Stallone and Kevin King Templeton.   Joining Coogler behind the scenes are director of photography Maryse Alberti (The Wrestler) and costume designer Emma Potts (127 Hours), as well as his Fruitvale Station team: editors Claudia Castello and Michael P. Shawver; production designer Hannah Beachler; and composer Ludwig Göransson.

The movie is opening on November 25, 2015