Great Film overall

Disappointment for a huge fan!

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

In other words,this film is a surreal ride.

The phrase 'slow burner' was made for The Son of No One. It's about a cop with a secret from his childhood that's about to come back and haunt him while he battles to save his marriage.Basically, it's a 'cop-on-the-edge' thriller. Only it's not much of a thriller. Drama would be a better description, as there's not much action in it.It's not particularly dark and it's not particularly gritty. It's just slow. The plot is strung out through use of flashbacks which tell you things that you already know (only longer).You may be tempted to watch this because Al Pacino and Ray Liotta feature heavily in the promotional material. However, be warned, they're not in it that much - barely passing characters.Overall, it's okay, but only if you don't mind your films slow and brooding. Every actor does his or her job in the film. Nothing special.

This film is about a young policeman whose dark secret is threatening to destroy his career and reputation.As a thriller, "The Son of No One" does not work at all. There is little thrill and little engagement. The plot is weak , as 1) we see no motive for people to expose what happened in 1986; 2) why would a newspaper print a letter with a serious accusation but without evidence to support it; 3) why would the letter writer continue to write when no one is interested in the topic. Maybe the director wants to add depth into the film by showing introspection and guilt, but it slows the film down so much that it becomes boring. The film conveys no urgency and no thrill at all. I am disappointed by "The Son of No One", given the strong cast it has.

I simply can't agree with the other reviewers who gave this film a scathing review.I suspect a lot of the bad reviews came from people expecting a crime thriller, rather than what this film actually was - a crime drama.This was a classic slow burn police drama about a cop who is once again haunted by a past he thought he had successfully left behind him years ago.It is well acted, well scripted, well shot, well scored - almost like an indie movie, rather than a crime drama.In theory this film was supposed to be about redemption, but the failure to actually create a proper redemption narrative is exactly where it all came apart, and where I believe it slipped from being a great film to something that was worth the watch, but not a keeper.Ironically, it's only in the last moments of the film that things are ruined - and rather oddly I have to say, because everything is building towards the lead character taking that final step towards redemption by making a very public confession about his past, and the corruption within his police department, but nothing even remotely like this happens.The film simply ends with him getting on with his life, as if no heinous act of murder and corruption has just taken place, and thus allowed him to carry on with life as usual in the burbs.From a technical perspective it actually feels like they either ran out of money, or time, or they didn't know how to end this film so they just finished with an el-cheapo stock footage 'newspaper with important headline on the table in foreground' shot.In fact, the previous couple of minutes before that were a little bit problematic as well - the way Ray Liotta died was highly contrived and clichéd, and totally counter to where the film had been heading, and what it had built up to over the previous 80 minutes or so.Some of you may be thinking; 'but didn't they do the same sort of thing in 'No Country for Old Men?' - yes, but the very reason they did that was to make a point about suffering and evil in the world. If this film was trying to do the same thing it failed quite badly I'm afraid.Real shame, because other than that this was a good film.

I don't normally write reviews but I felt compelled to write this one because of all the criticism this movie has received. Believe none of it. The Son of No One is an intriguing, superbly acted, crime/drama/thriller/mystery. It is rather slow paced, and there aren't a lot of shootouts etc but that doesn't make it any the less compelling. I was hooked from start to finish. The movie is told both from a current perspective and from a series of flashbacks. Two murders that occur in the flashbacks remain unsolved and that has repercussions for the present part of the movie. Someone is talking and someone wants the talk to stop. Channing Tatum's character is a cop caught in the middle of all this. Gradually the story unfolds and the tension rises. Channing Tatum is especially good in his role, but Katie Holmes also shows some acting chops.