Drug addiction plagues America. The ubiquitous drugs of choice may change, but addiction is ever present. Whether it is crack, crystal meth or opiods, addiction remains consistent. Drugs that are often associated with poverty and urban or rural America are found in every class or neighborhood. Beautiful Boy tackles this issue from the personal perspective of writer David Sheff (Steve Carell) whose son Nic (Timothee Chalamet) struggled with addiction and relapse.
Beautiful Boy begins with David Sheff searching for answers regarding crystal meth. It flashes back, perhaps a bit too often, to provide backstory on how his son Nic went from aspiring writer to meth addict. Sheff and his son have a very close relationship. He has custody of his son, who he raises with his second wife Karen (Maura Tierney) and two younger siblings. Nic seems to be a kid with a good heart but confused mind. He struggles with addiction, followed by embarrassment for his bad decisions. It becomes a vicious cycle that consumes him. Periods of sobriety are mixed with an increasingly destructive addiction that twice nearly costs Nic his life. David struggles with his love for his son, his love for his other children and understanding that he lacks the capacity to fix his son.
I wanted to like this film. It's not that I didn't like it. It had a lot of potential that it seemed to leave on the table. The film was too brooding. It felt pretentious at times. The story also relied heavily on flashbacks, to the point that it was like a ping-pong table at times. I don't mind flashbacks, but they should move the story along, not bog it down. This story felt bogged down. It moved at an incredibly slow pace to the point of sheer boredom. It was as though they were trying to stretch a short story to feature length and did so with a lot of filler. The narrative arc lacked impact. It was too close to real life. The endless cycle of addiction seldom has an arc, other than death. This film was just circular with a meandering ending that left me feeling unfulfilled. The film attempts to reconcile that with a few "true story" panels that follow up on how things turned out. It may have been more credible/rewarding had they actually had short interviews with the real people or something a bit more substantive. After a heavy, brooding film, we need something a bit more substantive to tie the story together.
I can't think of an up-and-coming actor who could have been better in the role of Nic Sheff. Timothee Chalamet was exceptional in the role. He has an instant likability factor that added strength to the role. He seems to be a kid with a good heart, with struggles that are bigger than his ability to cope. He allowed me to feel compassion where I might otherwise be a bit jaded at bad decisions. In this sense, the story succeeded. I am certain that was the main objective, although it hurt the qualities of this film as cinema. I'm not so sure about Carell in the role as Nic's dad. As dad, he was great. And I like Carell. But his performance was uneven to me. His emotional scenes felt off. In a smaller role, Tierney added the raw emotion I was looking for. She was a great choice for Nic's step-mother. The casting was fairly solid. I just wasn't loving Carell at times.
Thematically, Beautiful Boy is about drug addiction. As such, it contains graphic depictions of drug use that may make your skin crawl. While the film lacks nudity, there is a sex scene. But the R rating from the MPAA ties primarily to the drug use. The film also has a bit of strong language. Based on the depictions of drug use, I would consider restricting this film to teens or older. There are one or two scenes that were tough to watch. The film has a run time of two hours.
The subject matter in Beautiful Boy is an important issue. We have moved from meth to an opiod crisis, but the underlying issue of addiction remains unchanged. It is a sickness that plagues America and touches every community. This film puts a face on the issue, bringing it closer to home for people who might still think that it is something that doesn't affect them or their communities. Chalamet did an excellent job of becoming the face of addiction. A kid we can like and root for. Yet the film leaves a lot on the table. The painful pacing and choppy time jumps sucked any fluidity out of this film, making it tedious to watch at times. I liked the story but not the story-telling, which makes it difficult to give this film a fair rating. I am going to be a tad bit generous. 7/10.
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