Beautiful Boy

This film could have been bogged down with its flashbacks and some narrative cliches, but man do Carell and Chalamet's performances make this film soar. 9/10.

I managed to view this movie on Amazon streaming. Carell seems mostly known for his comedic work but shows again that he is even better in a straight dramatic role, here as the father who loves his teenage son but finally comes to grips that he can't save him from his drug addiction. The boy must save himself.

Good performances all around, it is hard to watch at times because we know that often a young man or young woman in fact fails to overcome the addiction and dies very young. In fact in the USA for those under 50 drug use is the most common cause of death. The problem with many teens, going through puberty and high school years, is they want to experiment but experimenting with drugs is a very dangerous thing. No matter how the parents raise them some will always go there, it is sad.

This movie, mostly based on the true story, shows that vividly.

I am a heroin and meth addict with 3 years of sobriety. I currently work in a treatment center and I periodically show this movie in my groups, this movie is the best depiction I have ever seen of the life of addiction. It's heartbreaking to watch myself because it parallels my story very closely. The way addiction is shown is so raw and true, the overdoses, the shame, the guilt, the question of why that can never be answered. It's beautiful and heart wrenching, it's honestly not easy to watch but it is accurate (too a point, addicts know a few things that are a little wrong but that's small specifics) and the acting is phenomenal.

This is the movie that made me fall in love with Timothee Chalamet. And a golden performance as always by Steve Carrell. It is a gutting movie, but an important story to be told.

Movies about addiction are typically incredibly difficult to watch, my mind always drifts to movies like Rachel Getting Married or in an extreme sense, Requiem for a Dream. Just brutal movies to get through, and Beautiful Boy seemed poised to take the next slot in that group of films. While it's not exactly as powerful as either of those films, it features to stellar performances, and one that should get Timothee Chalamet his second consecutive nod for best actor, unless of course they put him in as supporting. But it's his turn as a young adult addicted to Meth, among many many other drugs. And as I just said about 'Mid90s', this film (likely because it's directly based on two memoirs) feels entirely authentic. Something that can't always be said about Oscar bait movies like this one. And while at times the film feels jumbled and uneven, those performances are what keep you invested. Make no mistake, they are Oscar worthy material.

7.6/10