Beautiful Boy: A Father/Son Tale of Addiction

 In Drama, Everything, Good
Beautiful Boy

The review:

Felix van Groeningen’s Beautiful Boy follows the standard drug addict movie format;* the difference here is that the father-son relationship is the focus. I loved the performances of both Steve Carell and Timothée Chalamet** and that the movie doesn’t point to a cause of the addiction, just the things that happen because of it. While I don’t feel this broke any new ground on the drug addict movie front, there was a lot worth watching.

The verdict: Good

Cost: Free due to Amazon 30-day Prime trial
(I’ve been stalking this movie for months now and it’s been stuck behind the Amazon paywall and has too many holds at the library)
Where watched: at home.

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*Drugs are used/fun. Drugs are abused and bad things happen. The rituals of drug use are fetishized. Drug addict hits bottom. Rehab. Either the hopeful ending (rehab goes well) or the not hopeful ending (character dies or goes back to drugs.)
**I really love Steve Carell’s serious roles (and his comedy) and I was also happy to see Maura Tierney and Amy Ryan in this. Plus Kaitlyn Dever makes an appearance.

Questions:

Do you think the divorce of his parents contributed to Nic Sheff’s drug addition?
What was the hardest sequence in this film?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Cameron Crowe was once attached to direct with Mark Wahlberg in the lead role.
(So this movie has been kicking around for a bit, then.)

Other reviews:

Beautiful Boy
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