Beautiful Boy (2018)- BFI London Film Festival 2018

Review

120min

Genre:       Fact-based, Drama

Director:    Felix Van Groeningen

Cast:         Timothée Chalamet, Steve Carell, Maura Tierney…and more

Writers:     Felix Van Groeningen, Luke Davies, David Sheff… and more

-Synopsis-

As his son sinks deeper into addiction and emotional limbo while becoming a ghost to his California family, a father struggles to understand who his baby boy has become, but refuses to give up on him and the chance of a meaningful re-connection, in this tender and confronting true story family drama based on the best-selling memoirs of David and Nic Sheff.

There’s scarcely a better way for a filmmaker to connect with an audience and unite people than to tackle a subject which affects people from all places and walks of life, and no more effective instance when it’s something which destroys lives and communities.

Armed with the experience of making frank and unflinching Belgian human dramas like ‘The Broken Circle Breakdown’ and ‘Belgica’, and with both the blessing and the collaboration of the film’s real life subjects, writer/director Felix Van Groeningen makes an impressive English language feature debut, tackling the monster of substance addiction with a heart-stirring study of its devastating effects on family and self . . . and a touching but honest meditation on parenthood.

Timothée Chalamet stars as Nic Sheff himself, an artistic grunge-loving, philosophy-reading 90s youngster with a  amiable personality but a morose disposition, and a hole in his soul where the monster of addiction and dependency hides. When he begins to experiment with harder substances to obliterate the pain and anxiety of the real world, his abnormally close relationship with his loving dad David Sheff (Steve Carell) begins to fall apart, and a comfortable upper middle-class life in Northern California with his young step-siblings and his stepmother ‘Karen’ (Maura Tierney) crumbles. But David will not give up on his firstborn, despite the lying, the deception and failed rehabs, finding the wisdom to realise how he can help . . . and the strength to accept when he can’t.

When you consider that ‘Beautiful Boy’ is co-written by Luke Davies, the screenwriter of 2016 adoption tearjerker ‘Lion’ adapting yet another memoir, it’s safe to expect a tug or two on your heartstrings from this touching and highly empathetic family drama. But what makes Van Groeningen’s latest film so affecting is how honest it is about drug use and abuse from an addict’s perspective, and how frank it is about the effect of this inadvertently selfish and seemingly unbreakable cycle on the people around them . . . albeit from a single and distinct socioeconomic perspective.

Yet this isn’t quite the most moving drama you’re likely to see, ultimately just avoiding falling somewhat flat, nor is it the most intricately conceived or emotionally devastating either. ‘Beautiful Boy’ is painstakingly sympathetic to all its characters, urging you to fall in love with and feel for them, which you probably will, but the result is a lack of edge considering the subject matter, and something of a sanitised feel, presenting personalities and lives that are idealised and almost flawless—apart from Nic’s addiction, which throws everyone for a loop.

For the sake of narrative genuineness, it’s therefore imperative that the performances are up to scratch, and fortunately Van Groeningen has plenty of talent to lean on. As the leads, Timothée Chalamet cements his reputation as new Hollywood darling and indie crown prince with another raw and innocent but mature turn, while Steve Carell throws another impressive layer of dramatic dirt on his comedy persona coffin. But for us it’s Maura Tierney who steals the show as second wife and stepmother Karen, delivering a subtle but attention-grabbing performance as the most genuine and nuanced character in the film  . . . and its true voice of reason.

The film’s lack of edge and real melodrama does stunt its emotional impact somewhat, and gives the impression of a sanitised and slightly idealised drug addiction drama. There’s also been criticism of the narrow perspective from which the story is told, with some complaining that the context is middle-class and privileged, which is fair, and that it comes from ‘white America’, which is a convenient and lazy argument—particularly when you consider that the clear majority of crystal meth users in the US (the film’s central drug) are white males.

For all its narrative limitations though, this is still a touching and very well crafted family drama with real heart, serving both as a warning story and a shoulder to cry on for those who empathise with the characters and the real people they play, or anyone unfortunate enough to relate to it on a deeper, more personal level.

Ultimately it’s easy to argue that Hollywood should’ve chosen another story from a minority perspective rather than the Sheff tale, which would be going down a questionable slippery slope. You could find issue with ‘Beautiful Boy’ on many fronts, but it’s unfair and cheap to criticise it for faithfully telling a true story, from the perspective of a family who are only guilty of being themselves . . . and writing a couple of compelling, film-ready books about it.

The Bottom Line…

Whilst it may not quite soar or devastate you emotionally, ‘Beautiful Boy’ proves an expertly made, touching family drama and a refreshingly frank tale of addiction, guaranteed to make you fall for a father-son duo and their extended family, thanks to the accomplished performances of all its stars—and leave you feeling thankful for your own family life . . . if you’re lucky enough not to relate to the Sheffs too personally.

‘Beautiful Boy’ is out now in the US, and on the 18th of January 2019 in UK cinemas.

Comments

comments

Comments are closed.