Beautiful Boy (2018)
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A father struggles to navigate the harrowing reality of his son's escalating drug addiction.
The story
New York Times writer David Sheff's teenage son Nicolas "Nic" Sheff goes missing, reappearing in their home two days later. Seeing obvious signs of drug use, David takes Nic to a rehab clinic. Progress is made, and Nic transfers to a halfway house, with the agreement of Nic's doctors. Days later, Nic disappears, and David finds him homeless in the streets. Back at the rehab facility, Nic reveals that he has been taking numerous drugs, including crystal meth. The film explores the strained bond between a father and his son as the boy's addiction creates a cycle of hope and devastating setbacks.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
After a period of progress in rehab, David allows Nic to go to college to become a writer. Nic initially succeeds but relapses after finding pills at a friend's house, eventually escalating to heroin. David discovers Nic's addiction through his diary, which contains disturbing descriptions of his drug use. After a period of separation and a move to Los Angeles where Nic achieves a period of sobriety, he eventually relapses again and meets a former associate, Lauren. After a series of events where Nic and Lauren are involved in a drug-related incident, Nic is hospitalized. The film concludes with a final, tearful reconciliation between father and son in a hospital, followed by a credit sequence revealing Nic has been sober for eight years.
- First release year
- 2018
- Runtime (minutes)
- 120
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Felix van Groeningen
- Writers
- Luke Davies · screenplay; Felix van Groeningen · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Steve Carell · David Sheff; Timothée Chalamet · Nicolas "Nic" Sheff; Maura Tierney · Karen Barbour-Sheff; Amy Ryan · Vicki Sheff; Jack Dylan Grazer · 12-year-old Nic Sheff; Zachary Rifkin · 8-year-old Nic Sheff; Kue Lawrence · 4 and 6-year-old Nic Sheff; Christian Convery · Jasper Sheff
- Genres
- biographical; drama
- Themes
- drug addiction; parenting; family relationships
- Tone and mood
- dramatic; poignant
- Setting
- New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco during the late 2010s.
- Premise and plot tags
- biographical; addiction; father-son
- Reception
- The film received generally positive reviews from critics, who specifically praised the performances of Steve Carell and Timothée Chalamet.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 67% · scale: percentage · review count: 264; Metacritic · score: 62 · scale: 100 · review count: 45
- Production trivia
- The film was based on two separate memoirs by a father and son.; The production designer used a house from the TV series Big Little Lies for a set.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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