Marriage, divorce, and custody battles have been popular topics to explore in a range of genres for a long time. In 1993, the late Robin Williams graced us with his nanny skills after a divorce separated him from his children in Mrs. Doubtfire. Steve Carell’s seemingly perfect marriage with Julianne Moore in Crazy, Stupid, Love falls apart after his wife’s infidelity leads to a divorce. More recently, the acclaimed Marriage Story detailed the ugly details behind custody battles. For his second feature, director Bill Oliver aimed to explore these difficulties through a gay couple by pulling from his personal experiences. In Our Son, Luke Evans and Billy Porter deliver stunning performances, but it’s a familiar story we’ve all seen before.
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Luke Evans stars as Nicky, a book publisher who loves his work and the life he’s built with his husband Gabriel (Billy Porter) of 13 years. Gabriel is a former actor and stay-at-home dad to their eight-year-old son Owen (Christopher Woodley). From the outside looking in, Nicky and Gabriel appear to have the perfect marriage with the perfect son. But when Gabriel’s infidelities reveal a stronger overall dissatisfaction with his marriage, it leads to a devastating realization that their once perfect union is coming to an end. From there, an ugly custody battle ensues, forcing both parties to confront their changing family dynamic while ensuring the right actions are taken for their son.

Oliver’s intimate drama showcases a beautifully human and devastating depiction of a broken marriage. However, it is not without its problems. The foundation of Our Son’s premise rests on the idea that two people have fallen out of love and need to decide on the resulting custody affairs. And yet, there’s a pungent bias that saturates the senses from the moment we learn of their falling-out. For one, Porter’s Gabriel has been unfaithful, yet blames his infidelity on not feeling like he’s loved appropriately by his husband Nicky. Of course, his feelings are valid, but there’s an obvious vilification towards Nicky, especially when there’s a constant criticism of his focus on work.

Aside from this unbalanced examination of their feelings about their marriage, we don’t get to see much of these fathers independently as people. All we come to know of Gabriel and Nicky is what they feel about their marriage and their household dynamic. But who are they outside their marriage and parenthood? The script fails to offer these types of insights, even as they bicker back and forth about their custody battles, attempting to find their new normal outside their dying relationship. That, in combination with the disparaging characterization for working parents, often makes Our Son an uncomfortable watch.

Suffice it to say, even with the limitations in the writing and biased storytelling, Oliver tells this story with a humane touch in his direction. But something tells me it was fulfilling thanks to committed and sensational performances from Porter and Evans. The way these two actors are able to emote on screen will sink your heart, no matter whose side you lean towards. Their reactions seem realistic and heartbreaking with every argument despite the story feeling familiar. And their onscreen chemistry — in both the loving moments and the nonstop bickering — are enough to leave a lasting emotional impression.

Ultimately, Our Son may contain familiar divorce story tropes, and it has some trouble taking a non-biased approach in its storytelling. But what’s true is the emotional impact it will leave audiences. There’s a sense of tenderness and humanity with which Oliver directs his second feature, which is needed in a film like this, during a time in which some people still question the sanctity of marriage when the partners are of the same sex. Evans and Porter deliver heartbreaking performances with the right amount of intensity, leaving a lasting impact. And thanks to its sharp and emotional ending, Our Son could come out of the Tribeca Film Festival as a much-watch film of 2023.

Our Son premiered at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival. The film is 104 minutes long and not yet rated.