A man gets a panicked call from his ex-wife, who tells him that their young son has disappeared from the tepee camp where he was supposed to enjoy a nice vacation. When it becomes clear that the boy has been abducted, the increasingly desperate father uses all means fair and foul in order to find his child. Anything goes, including torture and manslaughter...

Viewed as a thriller, "Mon garçon" is watchable, although it would have benefitted from a few additional twist and turns or from a few additional red herrings. (The movie, by the way, takes a dim view of the French police and gendarmerie, who seem to be as useful as a woollen blanket in a heatwave. Now I may be foolishly optimistic, but I would expect that the sudden disappearance of a young child, especially in a quiet region without major problems, would warrant the full attention and skill of some seriously competent investigators.) Viewed as a drama, "Mon garçon" starts out in a remarkably truthful and life-like fashion, only in order to become more shallow and implausible.

This is a pity, since the movie, at least in the beginning, contains some impressive scenes which ring true. For instance there's the scene where the shaken father, who hasn't got a clue about what might have happened to his son, meets the new partner of his ex-wife. The new partner turns out to be a self-centered fool who prattles and burbles happily about the niceness of his own life : he's found his soul mate, he's going to build her a dream house and that dream house is going to look stunning. And nah, he isn't too bothered about the kid, he'll turn up... Unsurprisingly the conversation, which began in a reasonably civilized manner, derails with the speed of a runaway train.

In a certain sense "Mon garçon" represents a wish fulfillment dream for many divorced men, especially divorced men who feel hard-done-by or who still carry a torch for their ex. An emergency arises ; dad is called to the rescue ; stepdad proves totally useless ; thanks to his resourcefulness and courage dad saves the day ; both the ex and the child fall weeping into dad's arms, recognizing him as their saviour and as the one true captain of their little ship.

Just watch the ending and then tell me if I'm wrong...

The thriller based on child abduction has undergone some changes since André Cayatte days ;they try to treat it in a more realistic way,by concentrating on the relationship between the parents ;and here,sadly ,we run into the hip cliché :the parents are separated ,but they still love each other,in spite of it all .Fortunately the wife's new partner is not cardboard .And the scene between the two rivals,which begins in a genial way , ends up in violence ,from whispers to screams is a good moment;the best scene of an "experimental" movie, maybe an impromptu performance , it takes advantage of a relevant detail: the wife's miscarriage ,as she was pregnant by her new companion :"you did not forgive her (me),so you have abducted and probably killed my own boy!"you're only concerned by your new shack ,your own happiness!"

The police are present ,but their role is so insignificant the viewer is wondering why he pays taxes to be protected by them!

The word is "experimental": Guillaume Canet had not read the screenplay and thus did not know the ending ; his co-stars did though(after all ,Henri Georges Clouzot regretted that Simone Signoret had read "Les diaboliques" screenplay for he did not like the way she played her character).

I thoroughly agree with the precedent users : too many implausibilities , the psychological drama turns into soft Rambo stuff ,in which Canet ,an intellectual geologist world-traveler (why are you never here when your son needs you? his wife screams ,quite rightly so) shows what he's made of.Single --handedly,yes sir! The flashbacks , now real ones ,thanks to mobiles and computers ,make the difference with the thrillers of yore .But it makes Julien's quest look like a video game :aren't the first (enormous) clues given by the computer?The police are too dumb to have noticed the license plate -anyway it's so implausible that we think it's a wrong track.

A movie which starts well,but gets bogged down along the way; too much filler( both final sequences could be a nice commercial : "a good day begins with a good breakfast :the cereals X......make all the difference!") too many flashbacks which do not make up for the plot holes .

Not your typical vigilante revenge film with its deliberate pacing. But the tension does grow as the movie progresses and I certainly wanted to know how this was all going to turn out. Unfortunately, not all of the plot elements are thoroughly explained either adding to the film's detriment.

Guillaume Canet stars as Julien, who gets a call from his ex-wife (Melanie Laurent) that their 7-year-old son has mysteriously disappeared from a 4 day long nature camp. The impulsive and emotional Julien will try and use home videos to get clues as to what actually happened. Eventually, he will go full vigilante and do whatever he deems necessary to locate his son.

Certainly not the best revenge thriller I've ever seen, but there was enough here in this French drama to keep me engaged.