Beautiful Boy

Name: Beautiful Boy
Genre: Biography, Drama
Released: October 12, 2018
Duration: 120 min
Rating: 62
Cast: Amy Ryan, Christian Convery, Julian Works, Kaitlyn Dever, Kue Lawrence

2018

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Generally favorable reviews based on 45 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 103 Ratings

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7.2	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 103 Ratings

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Beautiful Boy: This Is Who I Am

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Movie Details & Credits

Amazon Studios | Release Date: October 12, 2018 | R

Starring: Amy Ryan, Christian Convery, Julian Works, Kaitlyn Dever, Kue Lawrence, Maura Tierney, Oakley Bull, Stefanie Scott, Steve Carell, Timoth

Summary: 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.

Director: Felix Van Groeningen

Genre(s): Biography, Drama

Rating: R

Runtime: 120 min

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Critic Reviews

Samantha Incorvaia

Oct 18, 2018

Director Felix Van Groeningen unflinchingly depicts the struggles and hopes of a family affected by drug addiction in a powerfully honest movie with gut-wrenching acting. Read full review

Joshua Rothkopf

Oct 13, 2018

Parents will feel heard by this movie in a way that few other films have tried. Everyone else should go for the kid, who's a rocket taking off. You want to be able to say you were there when it happened. Read full review

Rex Reed

Oct 16, 2018

Carell delivers a performance both tender and tough. Read full review

David Sims

Oct 12, 2018

Van Groeningen isn’t too curious about what got Nic into drugs, nor how he finally pulled out of the spiral. Beautiful Boy largely exists in between those two stories and ends up feeling like a limited, grueling experience. Read full review

Lindsey Bahr

Oct 11, 2018

A film like this, as authentic and raw as it is, should probably leave audiences in a puddle and not exiting the theater wondering why they’re not. Read full review

The Guardian Benjamin Lee

Sep 8, 2018

There are moments of crushing emotional weight but as the film progresses, they start to carry less power. Read full review

Joe Morgenstern

Oct 11, 2018

The root problem is repetitiveness, the seemingly endless cycle of progress and relapse that causes heartbreak in real life and induces déjà vu in audiences — even dejà déjà vu, since there’s repetition within the already familiar pattern. The mosaic structure is simply, though not successfully, an attempt to hold our attention. Read full review

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User Reviews

sassymah

Oct 17, 2018

The best movie I have seen so far in 2018. It is heart-wrenching, compelling, emotionally raw, and authentic. The acting from Timothee Chalamet and Steve Carell is strong and Oscar-worthy. Timothee is proving to be one of the best actors of his generation. It is a no-frills movie thatThe best movie I have seen so far in 2018. It is heart-wrenching, compelling, emotionally raw, and authentic. The acting from Timothee Chalamet and Steve Carell is strong and Oscar-worthy. Timothee is proving to be one of the best actors of his generation. It is a no-frills movie that illustrates the struggles and cyclical nature of destructive addiction, relapse, and recovery. It is beautifully directed and poignantly adapted from two memoirs. It also displays the emotional dynamic and turmoil of the father-son bond wonderfully. The cinematography is also top notch and captures the tone of the film. I am honestly baffled by some of the critic reviews. Beautiful Boy deserves a much higher rating. The film is honest and I empathized with the issues because the film explores the pain in such a real way. We witness how the addiction affects the entire family and how average people can be sucked into the black hole that drugs offers. It is relevant in this day and age to show the problems that relatable youth face. In most Hollywood films, we typically see the addiction melodramatically explored with individuals suffering from a specific trauma or living in abject poverty. In this film, we see the torment & despair of addiction powerfully & realistically explored within a middle-class family. Beautiful Boy is a must-see for everyone. It deserves Oscar nominations for Timothee Chalamet, adapted screenplay, cinematography, and directing. The movie is so much better than a number of the other acclaimed, flashy Oscar contenders of 2018. Beautiful Boy is candid and naturalistic. Not only does the audience get access to such fine artful filmmaking but also gets served with life lessons.… Expand

3 of 4 users found this helpful31

goodfellas100

Apr 3, 2019

This film should have won an Oscar for it's screenplay. It's a heartbreaking story of a loving father's struggle to help his addicted son. You will leave the cinema affected by the downward spiral of a talented son who finds solace in this mad world through drugs and alcohol. It is bleak andThis film should have won an Oscar for it's screenplay. It's a heartbreaking story of a loving father's struggle to help his addicted son. You will leave the cinema affected by the downward spiral of a talented son who finds solace in this mad world through drugs and alcohol. It is bleak and it should be. There appears to be references to Kurt Cobain throughout and the acting is just first class. I am a recovering addict myself and agree with the film's message that no matter how loving and well intentioned you are to help someone, the only person who decides whether they will survive in life or not is the addict. I am a survivor.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

hepwa

Oct 19, 2018

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The beautiful boy in my life was named David and he lived with my friends and I for about a year in the late 90's. I was naive enough to think I knew what drugs he was taking and even more naive in thinking I could help him. He recovered and relapsed multiple times and then, about five years ago, and having fallen mostly out of touch, I read on Facebook that he died. It was terribly sad; a drug overdose that was likely suicide. David was handsome and funny and charmed everyone he would meet and I spent a great deal of time wondering why? How could someone with so many gifts choose self-destruction over and over again?

Living in Vancouver and familiar with the notorious East Side, observed occasionally from the confines of my vehicle, its almost unbearable to dwell on the tragedies and misfortune, broken hearts and broken families that populate Hastings and area. But to focus on how it makes me feel is obviously wrong. I don't have any skin in the game.

Tonight, I watched my most anticipated movie of the year, a valiant effort to dig into those tragedies, those broken families caught in the hurricane of drug addiction. Beautiful Boy is based on two memoirs (primarily "Beautiful Boy" by David Sheff, but also Nic Sheff's "Tweak") condensed by screenwriter Luke Davies and directed by Felix Van Groeningen. Those who follow such things might already know that the film underwent multiple edits to find its final rhythm and while it doesn't always succeed, I admire the director for tossing the Sid Field playbook and attempting to give the film a unique voice. An attentive audience won't get lost, but this subject matter isn't for everyone and I could understand why some might reject it.

The story of a privileged young man who succumbs to the grip of crystal meth addiction is terrifying and infuriating, often at the same time. It is easy to empathize with Steve Carrell's David Sheff, at his wits end and slowly realizing that he has to let go of his grown son and come to grips with the fact that the beautiful boy he knew is now a manipulative, selfish, lying thief who will tear his family apart in order to secure his next fix.

The issue with pacing that has been pointed out by others are slightly overblown, in my opinion, though the criticism of the film's music choices are easier to understand. I'm listening to Sufjan Stevens' "Carrie & Lowell" while writing this and imagining what he could have done with "Beautiful Boy"'s soundtrack like he did for Luca Guadanigno last year.

As an acting showcase, "Beautiful Boy" is a lopsided success. While Steve Carrell has some incredibly touching moments and you can genuinely feel his despair, there are moments where he might be in over his head as a performer. Unfortunately, he disappears in the presence of stronger actors, including Maura Tierney as his noble second wife.

Timothee Chalamet plays Nic Sheff, in a performance that certainly equals his best-of-the-decade work in "Call Me by Your Name" but this is as far from Elio Perlman as you could possibly be. While Elio learned to live with his pain, Nic Sheff learned to live within it, to crave it and surrender to its control of him.

Chalamet's gifts as an actor are just astonishing. Its like watching the severed power line at the end of "The Ice Storm" for two hours, crackling and twisting, fascinating and deadly. You don't learn to do this in acting class. I was already a huge fan. Now I'm just in awe.

And please stay all the way through the end credits. The first half features the song "Treasure" by Sampha but then segues into Chalamet's recitation of the Charles Bukowski poem "Let It Enfold You". It is staggeringly beautiful.… Expand

3 of 3 users found this helpful30

GrantD243

Jan 16, 2019

Beautiful Boy tells the story of Nic Sheff in a very realistic way, which I do appreciate. However, I found the story's emotional impact to be a little lacking, which I think it was relying quite a bit on, and as a result it made the repetitiveness of the story less tolerable for me.

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

Bertaut1

Jan 29, 2019

Earnest and heartfelt, but narratively awkward, and emotionally unengaging

Based on the memoirs Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Through His Son's Addiction by David Sheff (Steve Carell), and Tweak: Growing Up on Methamphetamines by Nic Sheff (Timothée Chalamet), written for the screen byEarnest and heartfelt, but narratively awkward, and emotionally unengaging

Based on the memoirs Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Through His Son's Addiction by David Sheff (Steve Carell), and Tweak: Growing Up on Methamphetamines by Nic Sheff (Timothée Chalamet), written for the screen by Luke Davies and Felix van Groeningen, and directed by van Groeningen, Beautiful Boy is a film about the horrors of addiction, told from the perspective of both an addict and his father. Focusing primarily on David's attempts to understand and fight against his son's addiction to crystal meth, the film aims for a no frills unsentimental authenticity, adopting a non-linear cyclical structure designed to mirror the repetitive nature of addiction-rehab-relapse-addiction etc. And whilst it's certainly heartfelt and respectfully told, there's little in the way of emotional engagement.

The most notable aspect of Beautiful Boy is the structure - the film is made up of a series of high and lows following Nic and David through relapse and recovery, whilst at the same time, there are multiple flashbacks, with scenes in the present giving characters occasion to think about moments from the past, often happier memories of Nic's childhood. The problem with this is that it's overused; there's barely a scene that doesn't have some kind of temporal cutaway, which dulls the impact of such editing, as after 45 minutes, you're just yearning for the film to stay put for a while.

As regards the repetitive nature of the story, I understand what van Groeningen was going for - it's supposed to mirror the two steps forward, one step back staccato motion of addiction. However, the film falls into a pattern of Nic showing up looking a little more dishevelled than he did before, followed by David doing everything he can to help, followed by his failure to get through to Nic, followed by Nic disappearing, followed by Nic showing up looking a little more dishevelled than he did before, etc. And whilst this may lend itself to a certain authenticity, it doesn't make for very effective drama.

On the plus side, with both actors giving superb performances, one really sees the bond between the two, and how much Nic's addiction is destroying both of them. In this sense, the real tragedy of his situation isn't the rehabs and relapses, it's seeing him drift further and further away from a man who would literally die to protect him.

With lesser performances, the film would have crumbled under the weight of van Groeningen's heavy-handed direction. Thankfully the performances are strong enough that the style merely distracts. Chalamet's is the more physical of the two performances, conveying so much via his body language as he alternates between playing Nic as a sweet, loving, almost immature teenager, and a stressed addict, old before his years, capable of anything to get money for his next hit. Carell, for his part, does most of his best work with his eyes, conveying the sadness and desperation he feels. His helplessness is written across his face, conveying how little he can actually do for his son.

Despite all of these positives, however, there are some significant problems. For one, van Groeningen chooses not to present some of the darker aspects of Nic's story. For example, he turned to prostitution at one point to fund his addiction. Additionally, as his hits from crystal meth continued to diminish over time, he started shooting it up, which is insanely dangerous. Leaving out aspects such as this gives the film a kind of sanitised feeling, as if we're looking at addiction through a gauze which the director refuses to pull back.

A film of this nature, detailing something like this, and based on a true story, should be an emotional rollercoaster, but the audience is always removed, the emotions are seen rather than experienced. Because the film introduces us to the characters mid-crisis, and because there's literally not a single scene that isn't either related to Nic's addiction, or a flashback from a scene related to his addiction, we never really get to know David or Nic outside this situation.

There have been some truly great films about addiction; The Man with the Golden Gun (1974), Days of Wine and Roses (1962), The Panic in Needle Park (1971), Drugstore Cowboy (1989), Trainspotting (1996), Leaving Las Vegas (1995), The Basketball Diaries (1995), Requiem for a Dream (2000). Beautiful Boy is absolutely nowhere near anything of this calibre. In fact, it's probably more successful as a kind of instructional installation for relatives of people going through addiction than it is as a film evoking emotions. And whilst it's definitely heartfelt, its lack of emotion, its repetitiveness, its distracting structure, all grate against the strong performances.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

Panchogul

Aug 1, 2020

Ligeramente decepcionado, la trama a simple vista luce prometedora y confiable, las actuaciones son bastante buenas, no es común ver a Steve Carell en este tipo de papeles y creo que lo hizo bien al igual que T. Chalamet, pero sus personajes parecen haber estado destinados a cagarla todo elLigeramente decepcionado, la trama a simple vista luce prometedora y confiable, las actuaciones son bastante buenas, no es común ver a Steve Carell en este tipo de papeles y creo que lo hizo bien al igual que T. Chalamet, pero sus personajes parecen haber estado destinados a cagarla todo el tiempo, un padre que pareciera no saber ponerle empeño en la crianza de su hijo drogadicto, el cual es un pendejo bastante necio y muy descarado producto de las drogas pero nadie ni el mismo hacen realmente algo al respecto, por otro lado, la historia tiene una narrativa errática que a veces es un poco difícil ordenar cronológicamente los hechos.

Bonita a nivel técnico y en lo actoral es aceptable, pero malos personajes y mal guión.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

bataguila

Jul 8, 2019

Aburrida, quiere ser un drama de novela. El timothy cae muy mal, y Steve de actor dramático esta vez no le salió

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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