Based on a true story, Beautiful Boy is an American drama starring Steve Carrell and Timothée Chalamet as father and son David and Nic Sheff. I really liked this film and found it a moving story about complex relationships and addiction.
Nic’s experimentation with drugs as a teenager starts off innocently enough. Well, predictably enough. But his addiction comes to run deep leading him to a path of destruction including his relationship with his dad. Much of the story is told through dad David’s eyes and whilst I did enjoy this film very much, I don’t think it’s Steve Carrell’s best work. He can certainly do drama (I loved him in The Way Way Back in 2013) but something about his performance here didn’t quite hit the nail on the head for me. The same cannot be said of Timothée Chalamet, who really does nail the complexity of addiction in his performance.
For more about the film, here’s a three star review from The Guardian which I think is fair, though I’d perhaps tip it up a little to 3.5 stars. I’d happily recommend this but particularly to parents and really particularly (is that a thing?!) to parents of teenagers.
Beautiful Boy is in cinemas now, rated MA15+. Trailer here.