# The Good Son (film)

The Good Son is a 1993 thriller film about an American boy from Arizona who is suffering from the traumatic loss of his mother and goes to stay with family in Maine while his dad is on a business trip to Japan's Tokyo out of the country. While there, he learns his cousin has a fascination with home-made weapons and death, and psychopathic tendicies against his family members.
    Directed by Joseph Rubens. Written by Ian McEwan.

## Mark Evans

* You're not going to die, Mom. I promise... You're not going to die cause I won't let you.
* My mom said she'd always be with me. She chose your mom as a way of coming back, but I guess it would be hard for you to understand that. But it's true. She's my mother now.
* [narrating; last line] Henry is gone, and the rest of us are safe. But sometimes- late at night- I find myself thinking... not about Henry, but about Susan. And wondering. If she had to do it over, would she make the same choice? I guess I'll always wonder... but I know I'll never ask.

## Henry Evans

* [taunting Mark as he's hanging, about to fall] If I let you go... do you think you could fly?
* I promise you something amazing... something you'll never forget. Are you in?
* You like my sister, don't you? Such a sweet little girl...it'd be too bad if something were to happen to her... like she got hurt... you'd be sad, wouldn't you, Mark? But hey, accidents can happen...just ask my mom about Richard.
* No fair? What do you think this is, a game?
* You really thought I was going to jump, huh? I guess you don't know me very well, Mom.

## Dialogue

    Henry: [offering Mark a cigarette] Go on.
    Mark: They give you cancer.
    Henry: Who cares? You're gonna die anyway.
    [Mark takes the cigarette and gives it a puff. He coughs in disgust and hands the cigarette back to Henry.]
    Henry: Did you see your mom after she was dead?
    Mark: I wanted to. They wouldn't let me.
    Henry: You should've made them let you. It's very important. See, people don't like to talk about death. That's why you have to investigate. It's scientific.
    Mark: It doesn't feel like that.
    Henry: What did your mom look like the last time you saw her?
    Mark: Kinda pale.
    Henry: Kinda pale. I took a real good look when my kid brother Richard drowed in the bathtub.
    Mark: Your brother drowned?
    Henry: He was completely blue. You should've looked at her eyes and lips and touched her skin to see what it felt like-hot, cold.
    Mark: Just shut up about my mom!
    Henry: Hey, don't get mad. I'm just trying to be scientific.
    Mark: Just shut up or I'll hit you!
    Henry: Try it...[throws his cigarette down the well]...and I'll throw you down there.
    Mark: Oh, yeah?
    Henry: [coming around] Hey, look. I'm sorry. That was really dumb of me. I know how I'd feel if I didn't have a mom. [holds his hand out] Friends?
    Mark: [hastily] Okay. [shakes Henry's hand]
    Henry: I feel sorry for you, Mark. You just don't know how to have fun.
    Mark: What?
    Henry: It's because you're scared all the time. I know. I used to be scared too. But that was before I found out.
    Mark: Found out what?
    Henry: That once you realize that you can do anything... you're free. You can fly. Nobody can touch you... nobody. Mark... don't be afraid to fly.
    Mark: You're sick...
    Henry: Hey, I promised you something amazing, didn’t I? Something you'll never forget. Where's the gratitude?
    Alice: Susan told me you were here. I guess you forgot our appointment.
    Mark: I just didn't feel like talking.
    Alice: Talking helps. It helped the last time, didn't it?
    Mark: You're a doctor. You know things.
    Alice: Well, some things.
    Mark: What do you think? What makes people evil?
    Alice: "Evil" is a word people use when they've given up trying to understand someone. There's a reason for everything if we can just find it.
    Mark: What if there isn't a reason? What if something just is?
    Alice: Why, Mark? Do you think you're evil? Cos you let your mother die? You know that's not true.
    Mark: What if there was this boy? And he did these terrible things because he liked doing them? Wouldn't you say he was evil?
    Alice: I don't believe in evil.
    Mark: You should.
    Henry: [after talking to therapist] You sure missed an interesting session. I like therapy.
    Mark: What did you tell her?
    Henry: Sorry, that's strictly confidential. But you better stop telling lies about me, 'cause no one's gonna believe you.
    Mark: Sooner or later, they're gonna find out about you.
    Henry: Who's "they"? My dad? My mom?
    Mark: I told your mom.
    Henry: Why would she believe you? She's my mom, not yours.
    Mark: You know, you're wrong about that. She is my mother.
    Henry: Your mom? You crazy? Your mom's maggot food.
    Mark: My mom said she'd always be with me. She chose your mom as a way of coming back. But I guess you wouldn't understand that, but it's true. She's my mother now. [starts sliding down pole]
    Henry: Hey, Mark. [Mark briefly stops] Don't fuck with me.
    Susan: Henry?
    Henry: Yes, Mom?
    Susan: You never told me. What happened the night that Richard died?
    Henry: Don't you know?
    Susan: I'd like to hear it coming from you.
    Henry: I was downstairs, playing.
    Susan: Henry, don't lie to me, alright? Just... don't lie to me. Now, you tell me. Did you kill Richard?
    Henry: What if I did?

## Taglines

* In a quiet town...In a comfortable home...In a perfect body...Evil can be as close as someone you love.
* Visiting the relatives isn't always a treat.
* Das böse hat viele gesichter (Evil has many faces) (German DVD)
* El mal tiene muchas caras (Evil has many faces) (Spanish DVD)
* A gonosz igazi arca (The true face of evil) (Hungarian DVD)
* Evil has many faces

## Cast

* Macaulay Culkin - Henry Evans
* Elijah Wood - Mark Evans
* Wendy Crewson - Susan Evans
* David Morse - Jack
* Daniel Hugh Kelly - Wallace Evans
* Jacqueline Brookes - Alice Davenport
* Quinn Culkin - Connie Evans

## External links

* The Good Son quotes at the Internet Movie Database
* The Good Son at Rotten Tomatoes