There's not many reviews here but a few want to blame America's so-called love of guns. Let's be realistic, though: the right to bare arms is a necessary right that protects citizens against tyranny. One kid using guns within the home has nothing to do with being raised by uneducated hunters, either. Americans started out as uneducated hunters, basically. The Menendez Brothers were not uneducated. What is most troubling about this story is that the parents are deeply in denial, perhaps through a series of faults including that the psychiatrist has totally missed the diagnosis on this guy for he is obviously a sociopath. Sociopaths are excellent deceivers who routinely fool family, friends and employers until (if or when; very rare) they decide to act on their instincts. They are wonderful friends, excellent children, perfect employees, successful in whatever they put their mind to. They study others and, almost instinctively, take on the traits they see are successful in others. But inside they feel tormented at having to follow the rules of society, their parents, or their spouses. The seethe over small infractions. They feel they are right even when 99 other people tell them they're wrong. They play along, often collecting several good friends, cajoling coworkers or classmates, and being the perfect father/son. They are chameleons playing a game that will give them the biggest rewards. But inside they are empty, they've been known as a violent storm that only exposes the serene inner 'eye' until they encounter severe opposition or keep playing the game but being denied the reward. Most families whose sociopath became a criminal say they never had a clue. Look at Scott Peterson.
Nathan told everyone in the first few minutes of the film why he did it, he said, "I was mad." But then he goes on to act like it's a huge question mark. This is another very typical sociopathic trait, being dumbfounded by their own actions so that others will feel bad for them. Aww, poor thing! Imagine trying to kill your parents and not knowing why. That shrink is not worth her salt because this is classic sociopathic behavior. Classic. That grandmother was not the one trying to control Nathan, so she was safe. He'll do his time and then he'll get out and punish whoever tries to control him later, possibly in a similar way. Maybe even his parents and finish the job. You don't empty a gun into someone and not intend to kill them. Nor do you try to kill someone and not have some kind of serious deficit going on in your brain. He's probably a model inmate making all kinds of friends to call on for favors later.
This film is truly shocking in how blind it is to what actually happened. And imagine being the mother and wondering if you were too strict. Well, yes, you went too far in punishing him, but that's not why he tried to kill you. And another symptom of dealing with a sociopath is always trying to make sense of things that don't make sense, which describes these parents. God bless them. I hope they get it before they let him back in their lives.
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