My Son, My Son What Have Ye Done? (2009) by Werner Herzog - (7/10)

My son, my son what have ye done? is one of the two feature films that Werner Herzog released in 2009 (the other one being Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans). Although this one received less glowing reviews than the Bad Lieutenant, I did find it to be the by far superior one of the two. Comparisons are bound to be made between the two movies but besides the fact that both movies share some cast members (luckily both featured Brad Dourif, he plays a redneck, racist ostrich farmer in this one), they are radically different in style and substance. David Lynch as most will know by now, produced it and although Herzog says that he had no creative influences. The movie not only features references to several Lynch movies (try to spot them), it does play out like Herzog tried to channel Lynch into this movie, style-wise. It contains plenty of Herzog elements as well, some of the lines are really typical of his, animals act important roles in this one (ostracises and flamingos are present) and it has that thing – which he used a lot in his recent documentaries – where he just lets actors stand around without giving them any clue as to what he expects of them and they just stand still and it is so incredibly awkward.

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans might have been promoted as the comedy and My son, my son what have ye done? as a horror movie of sorts, My son was by far the funnier and more absurd one of the two. This one does play out like a dark comedy with plenty of absurdity.

My son, my son what have ye done is a mood piece, a character study. It is slow, not much happens, the ending is both odd and anticlimactic and it is all about the mood and atmosphere. The atmosphere is just superb, the music is excellent. I heard some complains from everyone including Herzog himself about the quality of the image, it was shot on a digital camera but I though that it look beautiful. The story is based on a true story – true in they typical Herzog way – of a man who killed his own mother, believing that he would safe the world by doing this. A man that Herzog felt was too demented and dangerous to ever meet again.

Although I am usually not one to gasp over the cast, I am more about the directors. The cast of this one must be mentioned. Brad Dourif which I mentioned before makes his fourth collaboration with Herzog and does a great job. Udo Kier does a nice job as the gay theatre director (not sure whether he is just being himself or playing but it does make some comments funnier). Grace Zabriskie plays as usual the insane mother, she has worked with Lynch before, she was the crazy neighbour in Inland Empire. Willem Dafoe is sort of just there. Most import of all was Michael Shannon who plays the role of mentally troubled main characters well, with such subtle and brilliance that I wouldn’t be surprised if he went out tomorrow and stabbed his own mother. He is just so convincing that I find it almost hard to believe that he is acting.