''Just Like the Son'' is a 2006 American drama film written and directed by

Morgan J. Freeman Morgan J. Freeman (born December 5, 1969) is an American film director. In 1997, his debut feature, '' Hurricane Streets'', won three awards at the Sundance Film Festival. Early life and education Freeman was born and raised in Long Beach, Ca ...

. It was Freeman’s third film from an original screenplay and was shot during the summer of 2005 in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and

Wilmington, North Carolina Wilmington is a port city in New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. With a population of 115,451 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, eighth-most populous city in the st ...

. The film premiered at the 2006

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Enterprises. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The festival ...

before making its European debut at the

Rome Film Festival International Rome Film Fest is a film festival that takes place in Rome during the month of October. The name in Italian is Festa del Cinema di Roma. From 2022, the festival was officially recognized as a competitive festival by the Internation ...

, where it won the Alice Nella Citta Prize for Best Feature Film. Breaking Glass Pictures released the film in North America on DVD/VOD.

Plot

Daniel Carter ( Mark Webber), a 20-year-old delinquent, first meets six-year-old Boone (Antonio Ortiz) while doing community service at an East Village grade school. The boys strike up a friendship, during which Daniel learns that Boone's mother is sick and may be hospitalized. He also learns that Boone has an older sister, Charlotte, who lives in

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

. When Boone does not show up for school a few days later, Daniel begins to ask questions and learns that Boone was placed into a temporary foster care in

Upstate New York Upstate New York is a geographic region of New York (state), New York that lies north and northwest of the New York metropolitan area, New York City metropolitan area of downstate New York. Upstate includes the middle and upper Hudson Valley, ...

. After being turned down as an adoption candidate and failing to convince his father to help him gain custody, Daniel decides to rescue Boone from the orphanage. He puts all his street smarts to use, and they head to Dallas. While the goal is to locate Boone's sister, the heart of the story is the unexpected bond Daniel and Boone form throughout their road trip adventure.

Cast

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Just Like the Son 2006 films 2006 drama films 2000s American films 2000s drama road movies 2000s English-language films American drama road movies American independent films English-language drama films English-language independent films Films directed by Morgan J. Freeman Films set in New York City