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Nobel Son

1 disc
Region 1 USA/CA (info)

Randall Miller's NOBEL SON is an ultra-stylized comic thriller with so many twists it could make David Mamet blush. The film opens at the midway point for a quick jolt of violence, then backs up and tells the story from the very beginning. Barkley Michaelsen (Bryan Greenberg) is a college student living under the shadow of his monstrous, arrogant father, Eli (Alan Rickman), who has just been awarded the Nobel Prize for chemistry. When not being a genius, Eli reveals himself to be a truly miserable man who cheats on his beautiful wife, Sarah (Mary Steenburgen). As for Barkley, on the night that he goes home with a sultry poet named City Hall (Eliza Dushku), his life takes an unexpected turn for the dangerous. The arrival of a mysterious figure named Thaddeus James (Shawn Hatosy) confirms his troubled situation. At this point, the lies, double crosses, and backstabs begin to multiply at an alarming rate.

NOBEL SON comes off like a glossy, revved-up hybrid between Quentin Tarantino and torture porn. Miller and Jody Savin fill their script with as many comic elements as they do noir-esque twists and moments of grotesque violence. Helping to bring things to fuller life is the impressive cast--most notably Hatosy, who lends a welcome measure of depth to a character that could have easily become a tired cliche. NOBEL SON is for those viewers who like a healthy dose of gore and humor with their twisting narratives.
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- Rating - for some violent gruesome images, language and sexuality
Additional Info

Manufacturer Part Number (MPN): 2257611
Credits

Ted Danson, Bryan Greenberg, Ernie Hudson, Shawn Hatosy, Bill Pullman, Eliza Dushku, Alan Rickman, Danny DeVito, Danny De Vito, Lindy Booth, Tracey Walter, Mary Steenburgen
Critic Reviews

"[T]he large, eclectic cast has its virtues, and the sneering Rickman and effortlessly carnal Dushku are especially watchable."
Los Angeles Times
"Rickman supplies the crown jewel in the cast, but Mary Steenburgen is no less amusing as his wife..."
Chicago Sun-Times