Starring Billy Porter as Gabriel and Luke Evans as Nicky, Our Son is the latest film from director Bill Oliver about a gay couple going through marital issues. In the movie, Gabriel and Nicky are fighting not only for their relationship, but also for their son, Owen, played by Christopher Woodley.
In an exclusive clip for Out titled “The Last Straw,” Gabriel tells Nicky that Owen knows about their relationship problems.
“He knew something was up, so I had to tell him,” Gabriel explains. Nicky argues that they were supposed to be together when Owen first learned about his parents having issues.
“When?” Gabriel asks. “You’re never here. He asked. I do not lie to him.”
Nicky brings up that Gabriel slept with another man and did lie to Owen about his infidelity. Gabriel protests, “I tell him the truth about appropriate things. I treat him like a human being. You don’t have a relationship with him.”
The characters keep fighting and getting closer to each other, prompting Gabriel to bring up the topic of custody. “Why are you doing this?” Nicky asks. “You’re destroying everything that we’ve built together.” Gabriel walks out to the living room, but Nicky follows him.
“I don’t love you anymore,” Gabriel says out loud.
“Our Son is a beautifully intimate and emotionally raw film that showcases the heartbreak divorce can cause in any family, but does not shy away from sharing glimmers of hope,” Evans tells Out in an exclusive statement. “This scene is deeply felt because it is when Nicky realizes that Gabriel does not want to fight for the life they built together, a devastating realization he now has to face.”
Director Bill Oliver adds, “I’ve always been fascinated by family dynamics. Being a director allows me to re-create and record them, which is part of the child-like fun of filmmaking. As a queer man, having the opportunity to make a feature film about a queer family was a dream. This scene was particularly exhilarating to direct because Luke and Billy dug so deep. They astonish me. There were many tears and group hugs on set.”
For some time now, Hollywood has made space for LGBTQ+ stories about pain, suffering, and death. This has included movies, TV shows, and documentaries about the HIV/AIDS epidemic, the 1969 Stonewall riots, and love stories with tragic endings. In recent years, there’s been a new wave of LGBTQ+ content that is more sex-positive, romantic, and even funny.
Within this current landscape of queer cinema, Our Son sits in between all of these different tropes. It is not a historical film, nor is it about illness and death. On the other hand, it does examine the harsh reality that married couples – straight, gay, and all in between – can end up facing: relationships can end. And when children are involved, divorce can lead to nasty custody battles between partners who think they’re right, and/or who are trying to hurt each other.
There’s no doubt that Our Son is one of the most emotional and important films of the year – and we can’t wait for everyone to see it!
Our Son premieres December 15 on VOD.
