Beautiful Boy is directed by Felix Van Groeningen and stars Steve Carell and Timothee Chalamet.
Drama, Biopic. Released 2018.
Less than a year after Timothee Chalamet made a huge impression on the film industry in Lady Bird and his incredibly powerful performance in Call Me By Your Name, he returns this awards season with Steve Carell to tell the true story of David (Steve Carell) and Nic Sheff (Timothee Chalamet), a father attempting to aid his son into overcoming a threatening drug addiction.
Upon my first viewing of this film, I was very, very satisfied with the result; this is because I went in for Chalamet, and he 100% delivers. However, upon second viewing, I felt differently, and when viewing the film as a whole, there are problems.
I'm going to begin by highlighting the major strength of this film, which is the acting. Starting with Timothee Chalamet, the undeniable highlight of the film, even opposite Steve Carell. Chalamet steals every scene he is in. His physicality is unsettlingly realistic - more of an overt, external performance than the subtlety of Call Me By Your Name. It's very disturbing, and for most of the film, quite devastating since the overcoming of his addiction is the McGuffin of this story. Steve Carell establishes himself very well as the character we are emotionally invested in for the entire film, delivering dramatic work which you wouldn't expect from him - very emotional and convincing, therefore creating a powerful father and son dynamic.
However, where this film falls flat is in its direction. I found this film to be rather lazily executed, relying too heavily on music to carry the emotional moments along with the actors, doing little as a director to enhance them. This is in addition to the film being oddly paced, at times moving very fast but at other times moving slowly, resulting in a tonal inconsistency.
Regardless of this, however, the acting makes this a very watchable and still powerful story between a father and son, with yet another masterful performance from Timothee Chalamet.
B-
I'm going to begin by highlighting the major strength of this film, which is the acting. Starting with Timothee Chalamet, the undeniable highlight of the film, even opposite Steve Carell. Chalamet steals every scene he is in. His physicality is unsettlingly realistic - more of an overt, external performance than the subtlety of Call Me By Your Name. It's very disturbing, and for most of the film, quite devastating since the overcoming of his addiction is the McGuffin of this story. Steve Carell establishes himself very well as the character we are emotionally invested in for the entire film, delivering dramatic work which you wouldn't expect from him - very emotional and convincing, therefore creating a powerful father and son dynamic.
However, where this film falls flat is in its direction. I found this film to be rather lazily executed, relying too heavily on music to carry the emotional moments along with the actors, doing little as a director to enhance them. This is in addition to the film being oddly paced, at times moving very fast but at other times moving slowly, resulting in a tonal inconsistency.
Regardless of this, however, the acting makes this a very watchable and still powerful story between a father and son, with yet another masterful performance from Timothee Chalamet.
B-
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