Great to read your thoughts on this, and I agree it's strange that there's nowhere else on Reddit where people are discussing this.

I too was a bit surprised by the low critic ratings...

[spoiler]I do agree in a way that everything was telegraphed (eg. constantly showing the washing machine), but on the other hand I felt the film was simply attempting to authentically demonstrate a real family tragedy. I didn't really feel any melodrama at all...the acting was strong, particularly Zen McGrath who really pulled off the confused unease about what was happening to him.

My brother-in-law has made several suicide attempts, my wife is a family trauma survivor and my brother has long suffered from depression. So I really related when Nicholas said things like, "I just can't explain it" or showed sudden mood swings.

The alternative to this so-called predictable melodrama (whatever that is in cinema land) would have felt off.

The ending was devastating...but I'm glad they didn't show the aftermath of the shooting as that would have been too heavyhanded. But I did wonder the whole time....I thought it was a full-sized hunting rifle. How does that work??

Still upon knowing there'd be a surprise ending I thought it would have played out better to have Peter eventually end his own life.

Consider an alternative where Nicholas continues his severe ups and downs (after a very brief high after coming home from the hospital...which given he was dosed up on anti-depressants and was able to say "I love you" to his parents' face would not at all be out of ordinary).

But years later, Nicholas continues to stagnate in depression (having made several suicide attempts), putting significant strain on Peter (and his relationship with Beth and Theo). It comes to a point where he sees history repeating....his second marriage is cracking and 6 year old Theo is showing signs of dysregulation.

And this realisation - that he's part of the problem and possibly even worse than his father (because he earnestly tried and failed to be the ideal father figure) - leads to a downward spiral that results in his suicide. The implication then is that adult Nicholas may follow.

I realise it was based on a play, but that's the way I would have framed it.

From my experience as a primary school teacher (in an affluent area) I can also see how so many families get stuck on this same track. Actually it really cuts deep to reflect now on what some of these kids I've known will face in their late teenage years.

Any parent who is self-aware enough to understand and heal from their own imperfect childhoods (as well as understand their responsibilities and influence on their kids) wouldn't let it get to this point. But so many parents just don't get it, and this was depicted very well in the film.

So many examples of conditional love (showing affection when he's "being good"), an inability to genuinely empathise (turning it back onto their needs as adults), as well as poorly timed comments that cut deep (eg. "don't have kids", "but your SATs are coming up!").

This is so normal sadly, and it would have been great to see these subtle moments when Nicholas was primary school age prior to the divorce. There would have been several.

Showing only the idyllic learning to swim moment may be important to Peter's worldview but things that like are never the full picture when teen depression rears its head.[/spoiler]