Sons
"We are all, we are the sons..."
The first shots of Sons show a woman- Juliette- exercising vigorously, staring her reflection down in a mirror. Already, we’re introduced to the main character’s extreme sense of self-consciousness... and the key object that serves as an important tool throughout the film. Juliette gets a notification on her computer: a man from her past, who wants to meet up for dinner and reminisce on old times. The first thing she does before hitting “send” on her reply? She looks in the mirror.
From that point on, we switch back and forth between the past and present. A shy, overweight girl, Juliette mainly sat on the outside of other friend groups, always too hesitant to join in due to her looks. However, while everyone else ignored her, one boy (the man in the present we know as Jonathan) is the only one who doesn’t seem to care what she looks like. The dinner goes well for the first part, with them sharing memories of a photo he took of her at a birthday party: Juliette sitting by herself, surrounded by other couples embracing in a dance. In an act of absolute innocence, Jonathan extends his hand out to the lonely girl, mumbling something we, the viewers, can’t quite make out. The two awkwardly dance for a bit, and he leans in for a kiss…
Jump forward to the present: she pushes the photo aside and jolts him onto the dance floor, moving promiscuously and clearly flaunting her physique. Jonathan seems uneasy, and the situation only becomes more unsettling when she pushes him into a nearby restroom.
Back to the past: just as he moves in, she looks to the side, seeing a monstrous, bloated version of herself in a mirror. Frightened and all-too-aware of her body, she runs away, crying, and leaves Jonathan standing alone. She makes it home and locks herself in the bathroom.
The Juliette in the present, however, is far more forceful. Jonathan, who no longer recognizes the girl he loved, reluctantly pushes her away and, with a look of remorse on his face, leaves. The key object that binds the story together rears its ugly head once more, as Juliette stares into the bathroom mirror, looking into a face filled with anger and regret. She screams, and in an excellent use of sound design, smashes her head against the glass. Her feet step back, and she slumps to the floor. As the song nears its final beats, Juliette looks up slowly, removing her hands from her face…
And sees her younger self looking back at her.