Beautiful Boy - Movie Review
Beautiful Boy
Plot: Based on the best-selling pair of memoirs from father and son David and Nic Sheff, Beautiful Boy chronicles the heartbreaking and inspiring experience of survival, relapse, and recovery in a family coping with addiction over many years.
Cast: Steve Carell, Timothée Chalamet, Maura Tierney, Amy Ryan
Director: Felix Van Groeningen
Certificate: 15 (drug misuse, frequent drug references, strong language, sex)
Runtime: 120 minutes
Release Date: Friday 18th January 2019
For a title containing the word 'beautiful', the words 'upsetting', 'distressing' and 'moving' are the first to come to mind. Yet still, Beautiful Boy is an unbelievably emotional experience that, so long as you allow yourself to open up to it, will have you weeping the entire time. Initially, that might not seem like a recommendation but allow me to explain.
Beautiful Boy chronicles a number of years in the lives of David and Nic Sheff as Nic (Chalamet) faces addiction to Crystal meth and David (Carell), as his father, is left to pick up the pieces and save his son from self-destruction. The topic of drug addiction is a sensitive one and often not handled with the appropriate care in some films. Beautiful Boy is purposefully distressing and difficult to watch but at the same time, is one of the most realistic depictions of addiction since Requiem For A Dream. Brutal sequences of overdosing and a loving family being torn apart are never glossed over or shied away from. Felix Van Groeningen directs the film with a tremendous amount of sensitivity. He's not forcing any agenda or message into our mouths nor does he keep a balanced viewpoint on any controversial issues. At its core, this is a story about a father trying to rescue his son from the brink. The film tells the story non-sequentially so initially, it's a little challenging as we chop and change between times without clear distinction. This was the only time that Groeningen's directorial approach came off as too artsy but he quickly reined it in. It's the simplicity of Beautiful Boy that resonates so intimately. As dynamic as the music selections are, the heartbreaking and devastating conversations between a broken son and a desperate father, are the moments that will live long in our memories.
Plot: Based on the best-selling pair of memoirs from father and son David and Nic Sheff, Beautiful Boy chronicles the heartbreaking and inspiring experience of survival, relapse, and recovery in a family coping with addiction over many years.
Cast: Steve Carell, Timothée Chalamet, Maura Tierney, Amy Ryan
Director: Felix Van Groeningen
Certificate: 15 (drug misuse, frequent drug references, strong language, sex)
Runtime: 120 minutes
Release Date: Friday 18th January 2019
For a title containing the word 'beautiful', the words 'upsetting', 'distressing' and 'moving' are the first to come to mind. Yet still, Beautiful Boy is an unbelievably emotional experience that, so long as you allow yourself to open up to it, will have you weeping the entire time. Initially, that might not seem like a recommendation but allow me to explain.
Beautiful Boy chronicles a number of years in the lives of David and Nic Sheff as Nic (Chalamet) faces addiction to Crystal meth and David (Carell), as his father, is left to pick up the pieces and save his son from self-destruction. The topic of drug addiction is a sensitive one and often not handled with the appropriate care in some films. Beautiful Boy is purposefully distressing and difficult to watch but at the same time, is one of the most realistic depictions of addiction since Requiem For A Dream. Brutal sequences of overdosing and a loving family being torn apart are never glossed over or shied away from. Felix Van Groeningen directs the film with a tremendous amount of sensitivity. He's not forcing any agenda or message into our mouths nor does he keep a balanced viewpoint on any controversial issues. At its core, this is a story about a father trying to rescue his son from the brink. The film tells the story non-sequentially so initially, it's a little challenging as we chop and change between times without clear distinction. This was the only time that Groeningen's directorial approach came off as too artsy but he quickly reined it in. It's the simplicity of Beautiful Boy that resonates so intimately. As dynamic as the music selections are, the heartbreaking and devastating conversations between a broken son and a desperate father, are the moments that will live long in our memories.
At this point, it goes without saying that Timothée Chalamet is a star. Any actor would have considered a performance of Chalamet's in Call Me By Your Name to be the peak of their career, and miraculously, Chalamet turns out another astounding performance. Switching from vulnerability to frustration to desperation to full blown ferocity (sometimes within a single scene), Chalamet will break your heart, seemingly sew it back together again only for him to tear it half once more. The journey he goes on (and the way in which you follow him) is a rollercoaster of emotions. However, Beautiful Boy wouldn't be as half as effective if it wasn't for the emotional backbone of the film, otherwise known as Steve Carell. Typically known as a comedy great, Carell has quickly solidified himself as a quality dramatic actor and his performance in Beautiful Boy is his best so far. Whilst Chalamet is easily the most noticeable performance, Carell is magnificently quiet and understated as a father trying to hold everything together. For the most part, this is Carell's movie with most of the attention focused on him and every single time Chalamet's condition worsens and Carell's protective exterior chips away each and every time culminating in the subtle and reserved ending that beautifully encapsulates their relationship, is all executed with such professionalism without every resorting to some big explosive argument. If there are any negatives, it's the pacing. At precisely two hours, and considering the immensely difficult subject matter, there are moments that drag and suffer from a slower, more methodical form of storytelling.
Beautiful Boy is by no means an enjoyable watch and will likely leave you emotionally spent, but it is important and integral viewing. Carell and Chalamet are wonderfully tender powerhouses and the direction, whilst unconventional, is the perfect storytelling method. Bring lots of tissues.
My Verdict: 8/10
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