Life behind bars and life on the streets, it’s all prison to Shadd as we join his story just as he’s being released from juvy. Surrounded once again by his punk a*s friends who are bent on going nowhere, life in his little rural town is much like life in lockdown, completely hopeless. Shadd is heading down the same reckless road that landed his brother a life sentence in a correctional facility. A counselor at Shadd’s juvy doesn’t want to see the troubled teen end up like his brother, so he does what he can to help him break free from his rut, even if Shadd is reluctant to accept a helping hand.
Playing like a “Boyz ‘N the Boonies,” “Son Up” illustrates how people can live with little, if any, hope in their lives, thus leading them to a life of crime. Filmmaker Andrew Shearer offers an inspiring story about finding one’s dreams and holding onto them in the face of adversity. Sure, the film is a little “After School Special” at times, but there’s more heart here than cheese and you can feel that the filmmaker truly believes what he’s preaching.
