Nobel Son

Studios use a tool called a playability/marketability matrix in order to decide how a film will be released. Essentially it’s a graph and on one axis is marketability and on the other is playability. For example, a film staring Will Smith would be highly marketable because people want to see a movies with him in them, no matter what they are. Something highly playable would be a movie like "Jaws," where the story is good and there’s something in the movie for everyone to enjoy. Where on the graph a movie is designated determines how many theaters it’s released in, how long it will be out and what date it will open on. As sophisticated as all this eighth grade geometry sounds, it’s not a shock that studios sometimes get things wrong. The reason all this is relevant is because someone definitely miscalculated when it came to the film “Nobel Son.” Chances are you never heard of this film, and the reason is because if a film is judged not marketable enough then no one will spend the millions of dollars necessary to market it. The flaw in the matrix is it can unfairly place a movie that is actually pretty good.

“Nobel Son” is the story of a grad student named Barkley whose father, a professor, has just won the Nobel Prize. Their lives are dysfunctional to say the least. Barkley is kidnapped and held for ransom for the sum of the Nobel prize money. What follows is a solidly told and intriguingly twisted story, with solid directing and notable performances on all fronts. Alan Rickman and Mary Steenburgen as Barkley’s parents are superb. Once the story gets going it is fairly riveting if at times convoluted. Comedic elements are well timed, and are reasonably funny. The plot thickens and becomes increasingly more unpredictable as the film goes on and the pace of the story speeds up. The cast as an ensemble is great; Bryan Greenberg and Shawn Hatosy deliver worthy performances. The music in the film by Paul Oakenfold adds just the right touch to every scene. This film is by no means perfect, but it has a lot of charm. It didn’t deserve to be swept under the rug, as it seems it was. The reason for mentioning playability and marketability in this case is to point out the error that was made with this film and why, if it’s as good as it sounds, you’ve probably never heard of it.

I’m by no means an accountant and I am certainly not privy to any studios internal finances, but surely a small investment in marketing could have commanded a moderate return. Instead the film had a limited release and grossed well below the cost to produce it. It is an injustice to put a lot of effort into a film, and actually produce something decent, only to have your film poorly distributed. My hope for all the people involved in the production is that their reputations are redeemed by the DVD sales. If you come across this movie it is worth a viewing. If you are thinking of spending a night at home this week and renting something then give this film the chance it never got in theaters.