Synopsis
Soon after his insufferably arrogant father wins the Nobel Prize for chemistry, Barkley Michaelson is kidnapped by Thaddeus James, a young genius who claims to be Barkley's illegitimate half-brother. Motivated not so much by money as revenge, Thaddeus tries to convince Barkley to help him carry out a multimillion-dollar extortion plot against their patriarch.
Votre Filmothèque
Cast
- Alan RickmanEli Michaelson
- Bryan GreenbergBarkley Michaelson
- Shawn HatosyThaddeus James
- Eliza DushkuCity Hall
- Bill PullmanDet. Max Mariner
- Mary SteenburgenSarah Michaelson
- Danny DeVitoGastner
- Ted DansonHarvey Parrish
- Ernie HudsonSgt. Bill Canega
- Lindy BoothBeth Chapman
Recommandations
- 75
Chicago Sun-Times
A mercilessly convoluted version of a Twister, that genre in which the plot whacks us as if it's taking batting practice. I will not hint at anything that happens. I will simply observe that it's all entertaining. - 60
Variety
Uneven but enjoyably titillating black comedy should elate Rickman fans while pleasing aficionados of extra-flakey caper flicks. - 40
Los Angeles Times
Shows strains of stylistic overkill with egregious flash-edit tricks and sped-up camera moves, while the signal-flare plotting indicates that perhaps a bit more time could have been taken on the screenplay. - 38
Chicago Tribune
I enjoyed Eliza Dushku's mad poetess, probably for the wrong reasons, but with a project this meager, you take your artful sneers and scenic diversions where you can get them. - 30
Washington Post
It's all wildly implausible and occasionally fun, but it could be so much better if director Randall Miller (who co-wrote the screenplay) had thrown in a little more character development and excised a half-dozen crazy plot twists. - 25
Entertainment Weekly
Randall Miller (Bottle Shock), appears to be trying to cross a bad Elmore Leonard thriller with a bad indie-festival family-angst comedy. He gives us the worst of both worlds. - 25
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
What finally sinks the film is that the more it tries to dazzle us, the more uninterested we become. - 20
Village Voice
Director and co-writer Randall Miller is so ill at ease with the basic building blocks of the genre that Nobel Son quickly announces itself as one of those misbegotten clunkers where almost every creative decision isn't just wrong but tone-deaf.
