The unlikable lead character makes it difficult to like Nobel Son itself. Alan Rickman stars as Eli, a short-tempered, egotistical jerk who constantly belittles his son. Much to everyones chagrin, Eli wins the Nobel Prize for chemistry. When his son is kidnapped, Eli heartlessly refuses to pay the $2 million in prize money as ransom. Danny DeVito, Mary Steenburgen and Bill Pullman round out the cast with decent performances under Randall Millers direction. This is a good filmbut its hard to like.