Following the death of his mother, 12-year old Mark Evans (Elijah Wood) goes to stay with his cousins Henry (Macaulay Culkin) and Connie (Quinn Culkin) while his father is away on a business trip in Tokyo. At first, Henry and Mark have fun together until Henry starts revealing an evil side to his character. When Henry voices his intent to kill Connie, Mark tries to alert his aunt Susan (Wendy Crewson) and his grief counselor (Jacqueline Brookes), but they don't believe him and conclude that it is Mark who is psychologically disturbed.
The Good Son is based on a screenplay written by English novelist/screenwriter Ian MacEwan. However, the movie was subsequently novelized as 'The Good Son' (1993) by American author Todd Strasser and is available from Pocket Books.
Most viewers say no and interpret this scene as an attempt on Henry's part to make Mark freak out. Both boys woke up in the middle of night and went down to the fridge to get a snack, and Henry took the opportunity to use it against Mark.
Susan finds Richard's rubber duckie hidden in Henry's shed and confronts him with it. Henry grabs the duck from her hands and tosses it in the well. Later, he suggests that they go for a walk. Susan asks whether he killed Richard, and Henry replies, 'What if I did?' When she mentions getting help for him, Henry says that he'd rather be dead than be sent to one of 'those' places and runs off. Having seen Henry and Susan walk off together and fearing that Henry intends to kill her, Mark breaks the window in the room where Uncle Wally (Daniel Hugh Kelly) has locked him and runs after them. Henry leads Susan to the top of the cliffs, then hides in the trees. When Susan peers over the edge of the cliff, Henry jumps out and pushes her off. Susan gets caught in some tree branches and is left hanging there. Henry picks up a large rock with the intention of tossing it on Susan, but Mark runs up and tackles Henry to the ground. As Susan makes her way up the cliff wall, Henry and Mark struggle, Henry saying repeatedly, 'I'm going to kill you.' Susan reaches the top just as Henry and Mark roll off the cliff. Susan is able to grab them both, one boy hanging from each of her arms. As the boys start sliding further and further down Susan's fingers, Henry reminds her that he is her son and that he loves her and asks to be given both of her arms (which would mean dropping Mark to the rocks below). Unable to lift both of the boys to safety, Susan says 'Henry, forgive me' and lets him fall so that she can help Mark. In the final scene, Mark looks out over the red rocks and, in a voiceover, says that he wonders whether Susan would make the same choice if she had it to do over again but admits that he's not about to ask.
Most viewers agree that Mark is the good son and that Henry is evil. However, some viewers oddly maintain that, since the story is told from Mark's point of view, the details could be skewed or presented in his favor. They suggest that Mark planned all along to discredit Henry so that he (Mark) could have Susan as a replacement for his own mother. The dialogue between Henry and Susan and the ending scenes don't seem to support that suggestion, but it's up to each viewer to determine how they wish to interpret the movie.
Several scenes showing Macaulay Culkins character dropping a life-like puppet from a bridge, causing a big traffic accident, were censored due to the fear of imitation.
The Good Son is often compared to The Bad Seed (1956) (1956) (remake The Bad Seed (1985) (1985)) and Orphan (2009) (2009), other movies that feature children who are not the little innocents they seem to be. Similar movies include The Omen (1976) (1976) (remake The Omen (2006) (2006)), Village of the Damned (1960) (1960) (remake Village of the Damned (1995) (1995), Mikey (1992) and Case 39 (2009) (2009).
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- How long is The Good Son?1 hour and 27 minutes
- When was The Good Son released?September 24, 1993
- What is the IMDb rating of The Good Son?6.4 out of 10
- Who stars in The Good Son?
- Who wrote The Good Son?
- Who directed The Good Son?
- Who was the composer for The Good Son?
- Who was the producer of The Good Son?
- Who was the executive producer of The Good Son?
- Who was the cinematographer for The Good Son?
- Who was the editor of The Good Son?
- Who are the characters in The Good Son?Henry Evans, Mark Evans, Susan Evans, Jack, Wallace Evans, Alice Davenport, Connie Evans, Janice, Arizona Doctor, Doctor in Blackport, and others
- What is the plot of The Good Son?A young boy stays with his aunt and uncle and becomes friends with his cousin, a boy of the same age who shows increasing signs of violent and psychopathic behavior.
- What was the budget for The Good Son?$17 million
- How much did The Good Son earn at the worldwide box office?$60.6 million
- How much did The Good Son earn at the US box office?$44.8 million
- What is The Good Son rated?R
- What genre is The Good Son?Drama and Thriller
- How many awards has The Good Son won?1 award
- How many awards has The Good Son been nominated for?3 nominations
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