Beautiful Boy

Inspired by a father and son’s dual memoirs (Beatiful Boy and Tweak, respectively), Felix Van Groeningen’s heartfelt adaptation portrays the relationship between David (Steve Carell) and Nic Sheff (Timothée Chalamet), as both struggle through the latter’s drug addiction.

There are about a billion reasons to see this movie: 1) Basically everyone in the cast has been nominated for an Oscar (save for Maura Tierney, who has a Golden Globe and two Emmy noms); 2) Timothée Chalamet; 3) The memoirs are incredible (and not super expensive on Amazon, so you can catch up before the movie comes out); 4) It sets the scene for a quasi Office reunion between Carell and Amy Ryan (who played Holly Flax).

But perhaps the most significant — and overlooked — reason is this: director Felix Van Groeningen’s 2012 film The Broken Circle Breakdown is, in my humble opinion, one of the best movies of all time (and available to stream on Amazon, who I promise I don’t work for). Stakes are high

Earnest and heartfelt, but narratively awkward, and emotionally unengaging

They say suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. The problem with being human isn't really so temporary.

• Nic Sheff; Tweak: Growing Up on Methamphetamines (2008)

Anyone who has lived through it, or those who are now living through it, knows that caring about an addict is as complex and fraught and debilitating as addiction itself.

• David Sheff; Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Through His Son's Addiction (2008)

Based on the memoirs Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Th__rough His Son's Addiction by David Sheff and Tweak: Growing Up on Methamphetamines by Nic Sheff, written for the screen by Luke Davies (Life; Lion) and Felix van Groeningen (The Broken Circle Breakdown), and directed by van Groeningen in his English language debut, Beautiful Boy is a film about the horrors of addiction, told from the perspective of both an addict and his father. Focusing primarily on David's attempts to understand and fight against his son's addiction to crystal meth, the film aims for a no frills sans-sentimental authenticity (Davies is himself a former heroin addict, who based Candy: A Novel of Love and Addiction (1997) on his experiences; he also co-wrote the script for the 2006 film adaptation, Candy, directed by Neil Armfield). Serving as something of a showcase for the two lead actors (Steve Carell and Timothée Chalamet, both of whom are exceptional), there's little in the way of plot, with the film instead adopting a non-linear cyclical structure designed to mirror the repetitive nature of addiction-rehab-relapse-addiction-rehab etc. And whilst it is certainly heartfelt and respectfully told, there's little in the way of emotional engagement. The structure is also problematic insofar as because there's no real cohesive plot providing forward momentum, the highs and lows are undifferentiated, becoming repetitive. Van Groeningen also ove...

“Do you know how much I love you? If you could take all the words in the language, it still wouldn't describe how much I love you. And if you could gather all those words together, it still wouldn't describe what I feel for you. What I feel for you is everything. I love you more than everything.”

- David Sheff

Beautiful Boy is a true, heart wrenching story of how a father attempts to care for his drug-addicted son. Told mostly, although not exclusively, from the perspective of David, the father, it shows how addiction can tear apart a family and how David Sheff dealt with it. This movie will make you cry and this movie will make you think, it's made incredibly well and is probably one of the best movies I've ever seen that everyone should watch.