Directed By Felix Van Groeningen

Starring – Steve Carell, Timothee Chalamet, Maura Tierney

The Plot – Based on the best-selling pair of memoirs from father and son David (Carell) and Nic Sheff (Chalamet), “Beautiful Boy” chronicles the heartbreaking and inspiring experience of survival, relapse, and recovery in a family coping with addiction over many years.

Rated R for drug content throughout, adult language, and brief sexual material

POSITIVES

– An intimate and paralyzing depiction of drug use. It’s no secret that drug addiction doesn’t just hurt the person engaged in the activity, it also hurts those loved ones surrounding the taker, and “Beautiful Boy” targets this effect with a lot of focus on those supporting characters who otherwise wouldn’t have a lot of weight to the unfolding narrative. In particular, it’s the flushed faces of the two child siblings in the film that emotionally drained me, giving way to a thought process from within of two innocent people born into a world where they will be subjected to pain that they have zero control over. It’s a conscious reminder that addictions are like a black hole, in that they take down many people uninvolved, and shape those we love into shadows of their former selves.

– Responsible in its informative stance. When I watch a film about dysfunction of any kind, I like to see a script that takes the time to educate audiences on the feelings and consequences from within. I myself have never done drugs, but the film gave me a layered outline in terms of the effects, as well as the abysmal success rate in curing the disease. What’s even more credible is that it doesn’t ever feel forced or compromising to the scene, treating us instead like Carell’s character, who at the same time is learning about the enemy by getting as close to it as he can.

– A story like this only works if you are invested into the characters, and far beyond some calculated performances that I will get to later, the film tugs at the heart by guiding us through multiple timelines of this family, that include Nic’s character as a younger boy. In comparing and contrasting these respective eras, Groenigen forces us to look deep to the child inside, touching us with this unshakeable feeling of innocence being erased. Beyond this, the similarities in appearance between Chalamet, Kue Lawrence, and Jack Dylan Grazer might be the single most believability in aging process that I’ve ever seen.

– A couple of Oscar worthy performances. Carell and Chalamet are names you’re going to be hearing at the Academy for decades to come, and what’s so captivating about their work here is that they aren’t transforming into a historical figure, or donning loads of makeup to become someone they’re not, instead they are two HUMAN characters whose realness is their most striking quality. For Carell, it’s in his hauntingly stirring facial registries, as well as the gentleness and love he invests into the single most important person in his life. For Chalamet, it’s the ability to play someone so vulnerable, yet conniving when it comes to seeking what he needs to satisfy the craving. It’s evident to see the differences between his Nic as a typical teenager and as what this needle has done in drawing out someone who beyond facial likeness we don’t even recognize. Together, these two are every bit as convincing as they are dedicated to their respective roles, and “Beautiful Boy” gives us these moments of goosebumps because of the mountain of chemistry that they share through the many ups and downs of life.

– Cinematographer Reuben Impens single best work to date. I thought 2016’s “Raw” reveled in the subtlety of color scheme to the graphic material, but it’s his work here that proves he is growing as a master of the lens. In addition to the gorgeously dreary Northern California countryside to catch our attention with all of its firns and mountainside curves, Impens is able to visually seduce us with some soft, serene coloring in atmosphere that metaphorically emits the somber tapestry in such a depressing narrative. Atmosphere is an aspect to filmmaking that doesn’t get enough credit outside of the world of horror, and the benefits of someone as talented as Reuben force you to pay attention during scenes of downtime between the thunder.

– Divisive ending. Coming out of my theater, a few people were moaning at the lack of answers and clarity from a mostly ambiguous ending, but for me it worked in relating the never-ending battle that one endures in shaking addiction. Without spoiling anything, there’s only two honest ways that addiction can end, and I commend a movie’s bravery for leaving us with a final image that, although not satisfying in terms of Hollywood endings, does relate the struggle and uncertainty with sobriety.

– Patient camera work that articulately captured the moment. I commend the editing in the film for sticking with some unnerving long takes during one-on-one conversation scenes, giving us the opportunity to soak in more of the facial souring and building gut-punch within our stomachs that the film so chalantly tampers with. It’s easy to overlook these kind of important sequences if an editor is over-zealous in their work, cutting the heat of the moment in half with far too many cuts, but the work here is commendable, and never looks away from what transpires, no matter how awkward or unpleasant it feels.

– Non-linear storytelling that captures the psychology of the two male leads. What I love about this element of flashing back so frequently, is that it offers us context whether it be in the form of an object or a location, where the two men have shared time. This also gives food for thought, in that we are given a series of possible leads into Nick’s rising habit, offering a conversation starter for what moviegoers could think are the elements of enabling that make it more possible. This angle of storytelling can feel a bit abrupt, especially during the first act of the movie, when the desire to overuse this aspect does feel slightly repetitive, but it slows down and eventually settles in to the pacing of the story, working together with the mounting weight of the film’s progression.

– It’s interesting that even through a screenplay that stays committed to the perils of drug addiction, the film rarely felt repetitive or derivative to me. I think a lot of this is in the constant raising of the stakes through each trial of tribulation that David combats throughout, feeling like he’s pulled in deeper by Nic’s betrayals as the film progresses, but the other thought is in storytelling that constantly keeps the pacing at bay. To say I was firmly locked into this film is the understatement of the year, and it’s a major example of all of the ingredients working together to make something exceptionally nourishing in its poignancy.

NEGATIVES

– Not a fan of the film’s musical score. I have tried to search far and wide for the composer for this film, and have gotten nothing in return. I can only assume that he/she is remaining incognito because of the jarring and instrumentally inconsistent tones in the film, that don’t match the mood or the tempo of the story. Some of these numbers feel like they belong in a horror movie, while others could be background music for the soft piano of “Murder She Wrote”. It simply didn’t work for me, and serves as the only glaring negative because of how distracting it felt every time it popped up.

My grade: 9/10 or A