Like Father Like Son

Plot synopsis:
Ryota Nonomiya is a successful businessman who is focused so much on work that he neglects his wife, Midori, and son, Keita. Upon his return home one day, Midori tells him that the hospital where Keita was born needs to speak to them urgently, and Ryota senses trouble. After arriving at the hospital, the couple learns that their biological son Ryusei was switched with Keita after birth, and after DNA tests prove the error, they must now make a life-changing decision to either keep Keita, the boy they raised as their own son, or switch him for their biological son.
Ryota and Midori soon meet with the other couple, Yukari and Yudai Saiki, small town folks who lack the money and drive that Ryota possess, but have a better understanding of the importance of child and parent bonds. They share photos, and for the first time, Ryota and Midori see their biological son, Ryusei. After several meetings, they decide to switch children for one Saturday, which goes relatively well for both considering the tense situation. After several more meetings, they finally decide to exchange children. All four parents have difficulty accepting the loss of their previous sons, and the absence of the parents they used to know causes both boys to shut down emotionally, culminating in Ryusei running away from the Nonomiya's home and returning to the Saiki's. Ryota picks up Ryusei and brings him back home.
Ryota and Midori begin to bond with Ryusei, who is also warming up to them. However, while going through the photos on his camera, Ryota discovers a cache of photos of him, mostly sleeping, that Keita took, and he breaks down crying. The three return to the Saiki family so Ryota, who has now understood the errors of his ways, can see Keita, but Keita runs away from him. While following him, he apologizes to Keita, and the two make amends. The film ends with the two returning to the Saiki's, and both families entering the home.

Tags: murder

Review:
"Like Father Like Son" by Huw Nathan.
This is a gripping psychological thriller with plenty of twists and turns.There a number of impressive performances from Tara Fitzgerald (as the Detective Inspector),Jemma Redgrave(as the harassed mother), Robson Green (as the kindly school teacher, who finds himself fighting for both his career and reputation,due to the actions of others), Phil Davis (as the boy's imprisoned father) and the young boy who when faced by constant bullying and prejudice, feels compelled to make a stand.
The screenplay and direction has been well handled.
A young boy has been brought up in total ignorance of his origins with devastating consequences.
It transpires that several people have been carrying long harboured secrets, which begin to unravel following the unexpected sequence of events.
There are some powerful scenes such as the classroom debate by the provocative schoolgirl with her espousal of William Shakespeare's play "Othello" and when she corners her teacher following the end of the lesson by making an unexpected pass at him.
There some vivid scenes as the girl is followed into the woods..
Fascinating look at the human condition.
I thought this was quite an amazing production with many insights into the human condition.
It was a very fair and brave attempt to show the importance of the family and how in the end true love wins the day.
It is also a gripping thriller.
While it was a little edgy at times this film had many deep insights.
The son looks for an ideal father but his real father is a killer.
The teacher is falsely accused, but makes a stand.
The desire of the children is for that ideal family we all want.
The mother battles to save her son - it's the classic struggle between the forces of evil and good.
This is a brave movie because it doesn't fall prey to political correctness.
It could also be used as an educational tool to show that the desire of us all is for a stable family, the very building block of a healthy society..
Contrived but interesting.
British television programs are way more interesting than average American fare.
They tackle much more believable topics and have much better actors.
British actors have superior acting skills, and look like real people.
American actors look like actors, it is impossible to relate to plastic people.
This patticural movie doesn't belong to the top of British TV production.
The script tries very hard to outsmart itself, so in return becomes completely contrived.
The people are real, but the situation they are supposed to convey is not, hence the problem.
If you are able to get over the imperfections and occasional messiness of the script, you will be entertained, but not much more..
Nick Laughland.
I think that the one true star of Like Father Like son was the director Nick Laughland.He is an inspiring man and this drama really shows how much his talent should be recognised and awarded.
His ability to bring the best out of all the actors involved and create a magical environment where all the stories came together is truly a remarkable achievement.
This alone shows a man of true talent and although jam packed with stars he shone the brightest.With his ideas and knowledge and commendable vision he alone created a masterpiece!I am very much looking forward to another..
An overwrought British "Lifetime Movie.".
This program had everything going for it: a great cast, good production values, a good story line, but what it didn't have a good director and perhaps not a well-crafted screenplay.
It plays more like an overwrought soap opera than a tense thriller.
Emotions are overplayed and characters make unbelievable decisions in order keep the contrived tension going.
I was disappointed.
It could have been so much better with a better director and screenplay.
And I had a pretty good idea whodunnit fairly early in the story..
The secret cause of society's ills....
When an ITV murder thriller is this rife with heterosexual dysfunction, you know who the killer must be: The Homosexual.Who murdered the sexy blonde teenager (who's also a pathological liar) on her way home from school?
Let's see, could it be the mother who (against all common sense) is letting her teenaged son make unchaperoned visits to his serial-killer father behind bars?
Could it be the moody son, who's impressed by his dad's no-nonsense attitude about women?
Could it be the serial killer himself, who seems able to manipulate events from behind bars, a la Hannibal Lecter?
Could it be mom's boyfriend, a teacher at the school whose affair with an ex-student led to his wife's suicide?
Or could it be boyfriend's daughter, who goes blabbing everyone's secrets at school, causing untold misery?
No, it's none of these likely suspects.
It's...The Homosexual!The only mystery for the viewer is guessing who The Homosexual is.
Of course, it could be anybody, since the only characteristics of The Homosexual are shameful secrecy and a propensity to murder and otherwise make life complicated for the "normal" folks.
The Homosexual is the invisible root cause of society's ills; only when this person is exposed and eliminated can the fractured family come back together, and things can return to normal...whatever that is.As for the cast, both Jemma Redgrave and Robson Green are now officially past their sell-by dates.
The world could get by marvelously without ever seeing either on screen again, but as long as ITV has roles for The Aggrieved Woman and The Misunderstood Man, I suppose they'll keep coming back in movies like this one..
Secrets and Lies..
Everybody lies.That's a fact.Lies are the oil that keeps society running smoothly."How are you?
"I'm fine"Even when your life is going down the pan....that's part of the human condition.
But big lies are something else.Miss J.Redgrave and Mr R.Green,a teacher, are lovers with pasts they'd rather others didn't know about.Nothing particularly unusual in that perhaps,but these are Big Lies,life - threatening lies and when their secrets are revealed they are overtaken by events they have indirectly and unwittingly caused.
Miss Redgrave has told her son that his father was an RAF hero killed in the Gulf War.He wasn't,he was a serial killer.And is still alive.
Mr Robson has neglected to mention that his late wife hanged herself when he was discovered to have been having an affair with a former pupil.
When these deceptions are uncovered it is not surprising that their relationship is put under somewhat of a strain.
A teenage girl obsessed with Mr Green is found murdered.
Both he and Miss Redgrave's son become suspects.
Miss T.Fitzgerald is the detective with the task of untangling the web of deceit surrounding the killing.
What separates "Like father,like son" from the run - of - the - mill TV psych - thriller is the performances.
Miss J.Redgrave in particular is outstanding as the mother whose one nightmare is that her son should find out who his father is.
"Am I like him?" he asks innocently."yes",she says;and then he finds out the truth.Her ordered life spirals out of control.
Mr Green is more restrained than usual and all the better for it.
You can see him struggling with the fact that his past is about to become common knowledge and that it will hardly help him in his predicament.
Shown now in two episodes on "True Entertainment","Like father like son" is proof that there is TV gold to be found in the most unlikely places..
Where's the darn ending?.
I hate a movie that doesn't have an ending.
I don't care how good or bad the rest might be, I don't like to be left without a conclusion.
Such shows should insist upon a disclaimer ...
something like: The movie you are about to watch has either no ending or is so ambiguous as to not be conclusive.In the movie the last scene we are left with is Dee and Dominic having a bit of a row and he says, almost regretfully I thought, that it couldn't be him because the fingers were either that of a girl or a child.
THEN IT ENDS!
Well sure, the smoking gun, so to say, is in the hands of the Dee's son, but what about Dominic's daughter?
I actually thought we might discover it was her!
Anyway, unless you like inconclusive movies, then I'd avoid this one.
Otherwise, I thought the movie generally good.