‘The Other Tom’ (2022) Review: A Vulnerable Portrayal of a Son’s Medical Diagnosis
Rodrigo Plá and co-director Laura Santullo’s The Other Tom (El oltro Tom) is a drama that follows a single mother and her young son’s recent diagnosis of ADHD (Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder). It centres on a heavily emotional and vulnerable subject regarding the treatment of troubled and uncontrollable young children. The Other Tom observes the controversial diagnosis of ADHD and the heavy usage of medicine and psychiatric treatment at an early age of childhood. Also, the movie explores the intimate mother and son dynamic and their struggles as they deal with the outside forces due to his condition.
Parenting is always hard. No matter how organised you are, there is always going to be some kind of chaos. Tom (Israel Rodriguez) has always been an uncontrollable child at school and at home. Even at nine years old, Elena (Julia Chavez) is not able to discipline or control him. His peers have already grown out of this behaviour. After Tom gets into trouble at school, his teachers refer him to a psychiatric evaluation, and he is officially diagnosed with ADHD. His doctor suggests that he should be put on medication to observe and monitor his erratic behaviour and Elena blindly agrees to take it without asking any questions. But when the father of one of Tom’s friends informs her about the terrible side effects of the drugs, Elena ignores him. Later, Elena notices a change in Tom’s behaviour. He doesn’t seem to be enjoying any of his activities and he spends most of his time sleeping. But when a horrible accident occurs — which was perpetuated by one of many of Elena’s broken promises — she opens her eyes to what has been happening to Tom since he took the drug, and she immediately takes him off the meds.
The Other Tom makes the debate of whether medications should be controlled by the parents or the state. After Tom gets into a terrible accident, Elena begins to question the purpose of the medication and looks into the side effects of the drugs. While the medications helped Tom, he doesn’t seem to enjoy drawing anymore. When Elena learns about the side effects, she takes him off it immediately. But the state and the school notice the change immediately and urge Elena to let Tom take the medications otherwise, there will be serious consequences.
As the movie shows the perspectives of the inconclusive and, possibly, dangerous results of observing psychiatric drugs on children, it also shows Elena’s side. The movie doesn’t paint her as a terrible mother. She is human and imperfect and even then, it leaves room for the possibility that she might be in the wrong about everything. Her motivations to let Tom stop taking the drugs could be because of her own selfish reasons and not for her son’s benefit; the movie doesn’t try to villainize her over that decision.
The Other Tom also shows how imperfect the state is towards single parents. In Elena’s case, when the state threatens to take Tom away from her, she panics and refuses to reason with them. Being a single mother without child support makes it difficult for her to accept alternative options that could be effective. Elena vehemently doesn’t want Tom to take psychiatric medications and even requests to be referred to another consultant. But the state’s refusal to listen to her makes it harder for her, and the system tends to see her as an ‘unfit mother.’
The decisions Elena makes to protect her son from the side effects of the psychiatric drugs will either have the viewers aghast or cheer her on. The Other Tom examines the complexities of the topic in a vulnerable way. It shines a light on the harrowing circumstances that single mothers and children with mental disorders are subjected to due to their socioeconomic backgrounds. The relationship between Elena and Tom is essential to their growth. Even though this film ends with a lot more questions for the audience to ponder, love is the ultimate direction of Elena and Tom.
