Alan Rickman, Bryan Greenberg, Shawn Hatosy

Barkley Michaelson is in a deep life rut. He's struggling to finish his PhD thesis when his father, the learned Eli Michaelson, wins the Nobel Prize for Chemistry. Barkley and his mother, Sarah, a ren...( read more  read more... )owned forensic psychiatrist, now have the ill-fortune of living with a man-eating monster whose philandering ways have gotten less and less discrete. As if Barkley's world is not bad enough, on the eve of his father receiving the Nobel, Barkley is kidnapped and the requested ransom is the $2,000,000 in Nobel prize money. Needless to say, Eli refuses to pay it and so starts a venomous tale of familial dysfunction, lust, betrayal and ultimately revenge. In the words of Michel De Montaigne, the 16th century philosopher: "There is more barbarity in eating a man alive than in eating him dead."

Flixster Users

52% liked it

2,064 ratings

Critics

25% liked it

56 critics

R, 1 hr. 47 min.

Directed by: Randall Miller

Release Date: December 5, 2008

Invite friends to see

DVD Release Date: March 10, 2009

Get It:

Stats: 290 reviews

Get movie widget Recommend it Add to Favorites

Your Rating



clear rating

Flixster Reviews (290)


  • August 11, 2009
    What a disappointment. And with some really powerful actors in its cast. The script had a few originality points, but it was all over the place. It had extreme highs and plummeting lows and to some roles, sequences and actions I couldn't even find the point. The mixing of technol...( read more)ogy, cannibalism, techno music, detailed thumb chopping, cheating and backstabbing between members of the same family is just too much for one script. The editing was crude and the overall existence of the movie needless.
  • July 9, 2009
    There's nothing like a movie where Alan Rickman plays a total dick. He's a genius at it. No one comes close to what I refer to as "Rickman Dickery". He's an artist. Rembrandt worked in paints and Rickman works in being an asshole. Nobel Son is no exception with the Rickman playin...( read more)g Eli Michaelson, a chemist who has just won the Nobel Prize, pushing his ego even further into the stratosphere. What seems like good fortune for Michaelson soon sours as his son Barkley (Bryan Greenberg) is kidnapped and held for his fathers $2 million prize. Of course Eli isn't going to hand over his money so easily, but this gets muddled by taking a simple plot and turning it into a convoluted mess.

    And that is the problem with Nobel Son. What was a simple plot that could have been played for great laughs, the film suddenly launches into too many sub plots: family trees, psych wards, stolen formulas, etc. The second half of the film becomes a road map to hell as you try to keep the plot straight and even after seeing it through there is no real answer to some of the more pressing questions in the film.

    Rickman is awesome, of course, but the rest of the cast is a little ho-hum. Sure Danny DeVito is in this, but it's mainly a cameo. Bill Pullman pulls off the role of a smarter than average cop with the same success he would have playing Princess Diana. Mary Steenburgen does give the audience one glimmer ray of hope in an otherwise dud cast.

    I don't know if Nobel Son tries too hard or too much, but the film collapses in its second half. This is mainly for Rickman fans. Others should steer clear.
  • March 31, 2009
    didn't finish
  • January 1, 2009
    An aggressively atonal crime caper - smug and glib and apathetic as to who gets what, so long as it seems clever in the meantime.
  • March 28, 2009
    OK movie. The first half of the movie was fine, and then it tried to be a little too clever, and fell flat on it's face. But a seasoned cast of familiar faces made it watchable, especially Alan Rickman as the pompous father.
  • November 23, 2009
    Great performances but feels forced and overplotted. Still good tho.
  • November 14, 2009
    With Alan Rickman, Mary Steenburgen and Bill Pullman you know that you are going to get fine performances and they deliver fully but without bravura. The rest of the cast rises to the same standard of excellence without flashiness. Nobody gave an Oscar worthy performance but ever...( read more)yone was very good. The story values are also excellent, achieving both a fine noirish thriller and a classy black comedy without either suffering from the pairing. The script contains some great twists that are truly unexpected. This movie very solidly exceeded my only fairly high expectations and is one I would highly recommend.
  • November 10, 2009
    Not bad I got 2 high and dont remb much but I do remb it was not bad.
  • October 27, 2009
    Wonderful film... A must see for all Rickman fans
  • October 21, 2009
    It was sad at the end

Critic Reviews


December 5, 2008
Pete Hammond, Hollywood.com

It might not win any awards, but it's a highly entertaining way to spend an evening. full review

December 5, 2008
Nick Schager, Slant Magazine

An absolutely abysmal crime flick. full review

December 5, 2008
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail

Even if you can summon some admiration for Nobel Son's editing or snippets of clever dialogue, the movie is so relentlessly self-congratulatory, you can't help becoming thoroughly sick of it. full review

December 5, 2008
Kyle Smith, New York Post

Except for a mildly engaging heist scene in the middle of the movie, the story never gets within a mile of the Quentin Tarantino classics it tries to evoke. full review

December 5, 2008
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer

Fans of Rickman will appreciate the actor's sneering mix of buffoonery and misanthropy, Steenburgen gives another of her playfully ironic turns, and Miller's direction allows for few, if any, lulls. full review

December 5, 2008
Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times

Nobel Son isn't funny enough for black comedy, nor suspenseful enough for a thriller; for all its flashy flailings and thumb-slicings, it's ultimately a little dull. full review

December 4, 2008
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

The plot by itself could have become tiresome; no audience enjoys spending all evening walking into stone walls. But the acting is another matter. full review

View more Nobel Son reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments


This board looks lonely. Be the first to talk about "Nobel Son" !

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Official Trailer

More Like This


This list looks lonely.
Add a suggestion!

Facts


No facts approved yet. Be the first

Nobel Son : Watch Free on TV


Nobel Son Trivia


  • What movie has Alan Rickman, Bill Pullman, Mary Steenburgen, And Danny Devito? (Coming Soon)  Answer »
  • Ruthless People (1986) was this actors first movie. He has since gone on to star in such titles as A League of Their Own, While You Were Sleeping, Spaceballs, and most recently Nobel Son. Who is he?  Answer »
  • -Prime -The Perfect Score -Nobel Son -One Tree Hill -October Road Whitch Actor play in all of this movie and T.V. show?  Answer »
  • Danny "Lil' Evil" Devito Movie? Nobel Son  Answer »

Movie Quizzes


No quizzes for Nobel Son. Want to create one?

Most Popular Skin


No skins yet. Interested in creating one?