Review: Beautiful Boy (2017).

Beautiful Boy (2017). Directed and Screenplay by Felix van Groeningen.

[Steve Carrell, Timothée Chalamet, Maura Tierney.]

Beautiful boy touches on the frightening increase of opioids and meth addiction within the united states.

We experience a personal account of a family dealing with their struggling son- an addict. Heavy themes of grief, hopelessness, addiction, and the lengths we go to for those we love.

Timothée Chalamet and Steve Carrell create a father-son bond that is extremely believable and aids the viewer in engaging with both the plot and the characters.

The story switches between flashbacks and a present-cyclical storyline. The line is often blurred, hardly able to distinguish between past and present. This style may confuse the viewer, but I think it actually emphasises repetition, an honest representation of the constant struggle of staying on track- putting out one fire only for another to ignite in its place.

We are on a roller-coaster, hopelessly following along, and this solidifies our understanding of the difficulty this family faces.

Timothée Chalamet embodies son, Nic, with such ease. He is so visibly shaken and disoriented, that we get the feeling he too, is confused and lacks understanding when it comes to his addiction. We are all rooting for his redemption arc. Unfortunately, we often express a sort-of optimism he does not. The character of Nic has such potential, curiosity, and a high aptitude for many things (specifically literature/writing). It is hard to watch him spiral, to constantly switch between struggling and thriving. We begin to share his frustration.

Steve Carrell works primarily with his eyes- he shows a lack of knowing- a confused, helpless parent, unable to understand his son, desperately trying to solve the problem. There is a hollow loneliness- a disconnect when he is on screen. He mirrors us – the viewer- we all struggle to understand the reasons behind Nic's addiction. The relationship between him and his ex-wife, as well as with his current wife, is well-developed and believable. It allows us to see him interacting with others and witness how the other people close to Nic respond and are affected by his actions.

Paired with gloomy grading, the score is just as unsettling. A pin drop would interrupt such silence- and I am rather appreciative of this stylistic choice. Belgian director, Felix van Groeningen does a wonderful job bringing this true story to life. His film aims to shed light on an ever-growing issue. Opioid addiction (the film touches on the abuse of several substances, however, this is an opportunity to acknowledge an ongoing crisis). Annually, 96,000 people die from overdoses; 72% are attributed to opioid consumption. These statistics are rising at an alarming rate and often go unnoticed.

Beautiful Boy sets out to tell a real story- raw. You cannot always paint a pretty picture, and this film is something many may relate to; a cold, hard look at reality. Sometimes there is no happy ending- or what we have learnt to accept as a 'happy ending'. The story is far from over. Most stories are. We may feel like we end up right at the beginning again, but I'd like to believe that is intentional. But hey, seeing is perceiving.

I loved it. I only write about stories I enjoy. Otherwise, what would be the point?

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