The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Window to the ugliness of addiction
With nice performances from Timothée Chalamet, Steve Carell, ‘Beautiful Boy’ an insightful drama
Neither the direction nor the performances, despite how easy it would be to do so, ever fall into the realm of the melodramatic.
Perhaps “Beautiful Boy” will not suggest anything about the horrors of drug addiction you don’t already know or imagine.
That doesn’t make its based-on-a-true-story portrayal of a young man in the throes of intense addiction any less powerful.
Plus, the new drama is lifted by highly impressive performances from its leading men: Steve Carell and Timothée Chalamet, as David Sheff and his addict son, Nic, respectively.
Neither of these performances should come as any surprise. Chalamet wowed last year and earned an Academy Award nomination for best actor in the drama “Call Me by Your Name.” Carell, on the other hand, while best known for comedic work, has shown a deft touch for drama in films that include “Foxcatcher” (2014) and “The Big Short” (2015).
This film, directed by Felix van Groeningen (“Belgica,” “The Broken Circle Breakdown”), is based both on David’s 2008 memoir “Beautiful Boy: A Father’s Journey Through His Son’s Addiction” and Nic’s “Tweak: Growing Up on Methamphetamines” from 2007.
It begins with David consulting an expert (Timothy Hutton) on crystal meth, telling the man that his son has been taking a lot of different drugs but that he has come to believe crystal meth is the worst of them. He wants to know what the drug is doing to Nic and how he, David, may help him.
As “Beautiful Boy” unfolds in a loose and nonlinear fashion, albeit with a very realistic tone, we will come to learn there is little David can do to help Nic if Nic doesn’t want to help himself. And that, sadly, is the case most of the time.
Through David, we will come to understand — or understand better — all the denial and lying that come along with addiction. We see the physical effects it has on Nic, sure, but there’s also a mental and emotional toll on David and the others who care about Nic.
For example, Nic and his ex-wife, Vicki (Amy Ryan), will be at each other’s throats, insisting he or she would have done more in the other’s shoes had Nic been in closer proximity to him or her. And while David gets a great deal of support from his wife, Karen (Maura Tierney), who cares for Nic, she has two younger children with David she worries about and doesn’t want him to ignore.
As van Groeningen moves us around the DavidNic timeline, we see some of the good — a younger Nic experiencing great joy as he holds his new baby brother and later graduating from high school with a huge smile on his face — but more of the bad. There are myriad tough, scarring encounters between these two men who a few years earlier were so close.
“Beautiful Boy” is at its most powerful when Nic is anything but beautiful. At one point, he tells his dad he’s fine — that he’s been clean for days — and that he just needs a few hundred dollars. And late in the film, Nic places a particularly heartbreaking phone call to David. In fact, you may find your heart in a pre-broken stage in the middle of the film when Nic finally seems to have worked himself onto firm footing.
We also come to understand, at least to a degree, how the drug took hold of him.
Neither the direction nor the performances, despite how easy it would be to do so, ever fall into the realm of the melodramatic. The fictionalized versions of Nic, David and the others feel like real people dealing with a real, potentially life-ending problem.
Chalamet is so convincing when Nic is at his lowest points. Nic at times saying he wants to change even though you can see in the eyes that either that’s not true or that he doesn’t possess the strength it will take.
Carell, meanwhile, offers a David who is steady and measured much of the time but, at others, understandably emotional. He takes many approaches to help his son and ultimately turns to writing, if only to help himself.
Carell and Chalamet offer so much anguish in these men.
The aforementioned ladies of “Beautiful Boy,” Tierney and Ryan, both offer something to the affair, as well. While the latter gets more screen time, it’s nice to see Ryan, who shared meaningful time on the hit NBC comedy series “The Office” opposite Carell, perform with him again, even if the roles are quite different.
Likewise, it’s wonderful to see Andre Royo, so memorable for playing homeless Baltimore drug addict Bubbles on the incredible HBO series “The Wire,” portray Nic’s sponsor, Spencer. Royo makes an impression in just a couple of scenes.
“Beautiful Boy” won’t be for everyone — it’s not exactly a slice of cinematic escapism. And yet, while you may wish it pulled you in just a little more at times, it is well worth seeing.
As is painfully apparent by recent news stories and statistics, drug addiction isn’t going away anytime soon. Perhaps the more people who come to appreciate the power it can hold over a person, the better we all may be eventually.