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A Dangerous Son

  • TV Movie
  • 2018
  • TV-14
  • 1h 26m
IMDb RATING
6.7/10
1.5K
YOUR RATING
A Dangerous Son (2018)
Mothers struggling with aggressive sons try to find help for the mental health and wellbeing of both their children and themselves.
Play trailer1:00
1 Video
2 Photos
Documentary

Documentary following three families each coping with a child affected by serious emotional or mental illness. The families explore treatment opportunities and grapple with the struggle of l... Read allDocumentary following three families each coping with a child affected by serious emotional or mental illness. The families explore treatment opportunities and grapple with the struggle of living with their child's condition.Documentary following three families each coping with a child affected by serious emotional or mental illness. The families explore treatment opportunities and grapple with the struggle of living with their child's condition.

  • Director
    • Liz Garbus
  • Writer
    • Jenny Raskin
  • Stars
    • Tony Beliz
    • Creigh Deeds
    • Thomas Insel
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.7/10
    1.5K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Liz Garbus
    • Writer
      • Jenny Raskin
    • Stars
      • Tony Beliz
      • Creigh Deeds
      • Thomas Insel
    • 21User reviews
    • 1Critic review
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win total

    Videos1

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 1:00
    Official Trailer

    Photos1

    View Poster

    Top cast8

    Edit
    Tony Beliz
    • Self
    • (as Dr. Tony Beliz)
    Creigh Deeds
    • Self
    Thomas Insel
    • Self
    • (as Dr. Thomas Insel)
    Liza Long
    • Self
    Maria Martinez
    • Self
    Amy Nale
    • Self
    Andrew Solomon
    • Self
    Brian Tallant
    • Self
    • Director
      • Liz Garbus
    • Writer
      • Jenny Raskin
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews21

    6.71.4K
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    Featured reviews

    6kamfg

    Interesting but sad and hard to watch at times

    An overall interesting piece to watch. I just can't wrap my head around how it benefits a child with a mental illness to be surrounded by cameramen and crew.

    And it gave little to no attention to the young black teenage boy and his family. And it left out why the woman was convinced her child was the next school shooter and instead just launched her into an authority on the issue?

    I wish it had gone into more of the psychology behind these issues and the long term prognosis and eventual outcome for each of these boys.
    5nitro72

    Surface-Level Effective

    Surface-level effective doc evokes the same feelings of helplessness in its viewers as it conveys in its subjects; bleak outlook results in frustration & selfish hope that this won't happen to you or someone you love.

    #nitrosMovieChallenge.
    10khw-39397

    Excellent and Much Needed

    This is an excellent documentary by Oscar nominated director Liz Garbus. The people who gave it bad reviews found it uncomfortable to watch, and it is. It should be. Viewers should be very uncomfortable with the fact that the three women it follows had such a hard time getting any help for their sons. For the lower income mom, treatment was a luxury she could not afford. Garbus was inspired by the viral blog "I am Adam Lanza's Mother," written by one of the women in the documentary shortly after the Sandy Hook shooting, and the documentary does a great job of connecting the problem of lack of treatment available to mothers of boys with severe psychiatric issues with the problem of school shootings. (All of which have been committed by teenaged boys with psychiatric problems.) This documentary should be watched and shared and, mostly importantly, sent to our representatives, with a strong urging that they delegate funding to this issue.
    10samanthabow

    A mum who 'gets this doc' xx

    I have so many discussions to have with the amount of negative views to this documentary, I am 41, married with 4 boys..8 to 14 yrs and 3/4 boys have ADHD, ASD, Lacking Melatonin Hormone, Severe Behaviour Issues. I have completely understood all of the mums and dad in the documentary and my heart goes out to them xx. I believe that yes the system has let us down, we are in UK and our 9 yr old boy has been waiting for a referral for 3 yrs + now to then be assessed for 2 yrs and then given a diagnosis. In the mean time we just have to it take day by day. Me as mum will look around feeling envious of those who are raising non-challenging children but as I will always say there's never a dull day in our household!
    7neener3707

    Forget The 1 Star Reviews, This Is Important

    Forget these other reviews that yell about child abuse and sensationalism, this was a very disturbing look at the most innocent victims of America's failed mental health system, children. In the 1920's, America had 30,000 mental hospitals, now we have 13. I'm serious. This film shows the aspects of children under our broken system. A system where children are either forgotten, or are put on medication that either doesn't work, or makes things worse. It shows the sadness of parents who are simply told by psychologists that they don't know how to help. As a person who grew up in the 90's, during a time when kids were force-fed ADHD medications, so in my reputable opinion, this film accurately portrays the calamity of parents and kids in this sad situation.

    While the film portrays things well, I feel like it didn't push hard enough. There are some serious question about the roles of parents and psychiatrists in the mental deterioration of our defenseless child. While it appears most psychologists put their hands up in the air and say "I don't know" while at the same time deliberately prescribing medications that will either make things worse, or do nothing at all. At the same time, proper guidance is not given to parents on how to deal with it correctly. So while its portrayed, it doesn't go far enough to ask why and ask what can be done, at least not as much as most HBO documentaries. So while this is a tough watch, but an important one.

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    Storyline

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    Details

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    • Release date
      • May 7, 2018 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Un hijo peligroso
    • Production company
      • Home Box Office (HBO)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 26m(86 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.78 : 1

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