James McAvoy is known for taking on challenging roles – hello, Split! – but his latest movie project definitely required a leap of faith.
In My Son, a thriller in which he stars opposite Claire Foy, McAvoy’s improvisational skills were really put to the test. As the trailer explains, McAvoy was given no script or dialogue for the entire movie, only rudimentary aspects of his character’s backstory.
Consequently, he had to improvise throughout the shooting as he discovers that his young son has gone missing, leading him to reconnect with his ex-wife, who’s played by Foy. Written and directed by Christian Carion, My Son is a remake of Carrion’s French-language film of the same name, which was also partly improvised.
McAvoy clearly relished the challenge, saying at the start of the trailer: “I’ve managed to have an experience that no actor gets to have.” Check out the trailer for the movie, which was filmed in the beautiful Scottish Highlands.
The film revolves around the kidnapping of McAvoy’s seven-year-old son and his attempts to find out the truth about what happened to him, coupled with his own nagging self-doubt about whether he ultimately failed him and whether or not he’s responsible for his current situation. The trailer makes it look suitably eerie, chilling, and depressing all at once.
However, anyone that’s seen ‘Split’ will know that McAvoy is a fantastic actor, so I’ve every confidence that he’ll do this concept proud and the movie should hopefully be great. Surprisingly considering that the movie seems to be set in Scotland, there’s no UK release date but with the amount of hype it already seems to be picking up, I expect that to change pretty soon.
My Son, which also stars Tom Cullen, Gary Lewis, and Owen Whitelaw, is due to premiere on September 15 on the Peacock streaming service. You can whet your appetite by checking out our recent feature on James McAvoy.