American Son

American Son is a drama based off of a Broadway play of the same name starring Kerry Washington. 

Set in a Miami police station waiting room and it opens with Washington, who plays Kendra, a mother worried sick about her son, Jamal, who hasn’t been home all night. She begins losing her patience because rookie Officer Paul Larkin, played by Jeremy Jordan, who is White, doesn’t seem to care very much about her Black teenage son. Steven Pasquale plays Scott Connor, Kendra’s estranged White FBI husband and Jamal’s father, and Eugene Lee plays Lt. John Stokes.

The movie touched on a lot of heavy themes including stereotyping, the relationship that the African American community has with the police, racism vs ignorance, parenthood, interracial relationships, and raising biracial children. It asks the uncomfortable questions and forces you to think about what you would do in that situation and how you would react.

The acting from the entire cast was great. They go through a wide range of emotions and you really feel for Kendra, who is complicated and hurting. She lashes out, sometimes at the wrong people and you get that. She is also forced to face hard truths and even gets a dose of humble pie from Lt. John Stokes.

The plays writer, Christopher Demos-Brown, was also credited for the script. I didn’t think this was a good idea because there was not a smooth transition from Broadway to film. It felt like a copy and paste from the play; very dialogue heavy and lengthy monologues. Honestly, I’m not even sure if a proper screenwriter was brought to translate this from the stage to the screen if it would have been worth it. The intention was impactful but the delivery couldn't quite get me there. This movie felt like it should have just stayed a play.