James McAvoy stars in the upcoming thriller My Son. The twist? He improvised his role.
As the trailer for the film says, During the making of My Son James McAvoy was never given a script. What follows is a groundbreaking filmmaking achievement where both the actor and the audience uncover the mystery at the exact same time.
The story follows McAvoy’s Edmond Murray as he receives a call from his ex-wife (Claire Foy), learning his son has gone missing.
Watch the trailer for My Son below.
My Son is an English-language remake of a hit French thriller, which similarly had its lead improvise and react to the story as it unfolded. McAvoy was told only basic aspects of his character and the story to guide his performance. The rest of the cast and crew knew about the scenes ahead of time.
We hear a lot about how certain iconic lines or scenes from movies and TV were actually improvised by the actors. But this movie definitely takes this idea to another level. McAvoy is a supremely talented actor though, so if anyone can pull this off, it’s him. This structure will also need a strong director to work. Christian Carion, who directed the original French film, also directs My Son. So, he should already have a good foundation for how to repeat the process.
My Son will hit streaming on Peacock September 15.
So, what do you think of this unique approach to filming? Are you intrigued and banking on McAvoy’s talent to make it work? Or do you think the movie will just end up a mess without the direction of a scripted lead? Let us know in the comments.
Source: Peacock
