London Film Festival 2018: 'Beautiful Boy' Film Review

I've just come out of the London Film Festival press screening for Beautiful Boy, so my thoughts here are pretty fresh and raw. 

Beautiful Boy isn't a perfect film but my God is it a powerful one. This is the story of real-life journalist David Sheff's (Steve Carrell) love for his son Nic (Timothée Chalamet), who finds himself grappling with an addiction to crystal methamphetamine. The film is based on Sheff's book of the same name as well as Nic Sheff's book Tweak. 

Chalamet, despite being more of a supporting actor to Carell, delivers the film's best performance - a performance that varies greatly from his characterisation of Elio in last year's Call Me By Your Name, affirming his vast and exciting range as an actor. While it's definitely early days, I would be shocked if he doesn't receive yet another Academy Award nomination, and I think he'd have a pretty good shot at winning, too. 

Chalamet's main challenge here is to get the audience to love him. The character of Nic makes some infuriating decisions throughout the film, but Chalamet brings a tangible charm and warmth to the character that allows the film to successfully give a face to addiction. Beautiful Boy lures you into loving Nic as much as his father does, only to crush you as you watch him spiral beyond help's reach. The emotional stakes are heightened through the film's use of flashbacks. We get to see Nic at multiple stages in his childhood and, because of this, we can truly understand the gravity of the situation, the life that's at stake.

The film's twisted chronology will leave you confused for a while as it constantly flits between present and past. Watching Beautiful Boy can feel a bit like flicking through a photo album that's pages are all mixed up. At first I found this slightly frustrating, but eventually I realised that director Felix Van Groeningen was trying to make you feel as disorientated as Nic - his mind a pendulum swinging between bittersweet memories and reality's uncomfortable pain. The creative choice pays off, but mainly because the constant reminders of who Nic was makes his present all the more upsetting. Ruben Impens' cinematography impresses too.  

While Carell gives a great performance I sometimes found it difficult to get into (I think due to his previous comedic roles). In one scene Carell finds himself in a shouting match with his son, but his voice got so high pitched that I found the moment almost comedic and it pulled me out of what was meant to be a dramatic moment. Months of binging The Office meant it took me a little while to adjust to seeing him in a dramatic role, but when I'd re-calibrated I found his performance to be deeply moving. 

This was the first serious film I've seen him in (which clearly contributed to my reception of him in this role), so those that have watched Foxcatcher and The Big Short shouldn't have to adjust like I did.

I've seen that many are frustrated about the film's depressing take on addiction. It's a difficult one because I think that, while the film does seek to be as devastatingly sad as possible, it is still a true story. Apparently, over the end credits Chalamet delivers a recorded monologue written by the real Nic to the audience. I can't tell you what the tone of this was, I didn't know to stay to hear it, but I think it would help those that are concerned about it's message. The film could have ended on a more hopeful note, sure, but I don't think it wanted to, and I think there's a valid reason for that. 

This isn't a film about recovery, this a film about addiction. At the end of the film, Van Groeningen places a worrying statistic on screen: "drug overdoses are the leading cause of deaths in Americans under 50." It's this statistic that drives the film.  Beautiful Boy demands to be noticed, demands to be taken seriously and demands more funding for rehabilitation services across both the US and the globe. Yes, recovery is possible, recovery is always, always possible, but it's near impossible to recover without adequate rehabilitation services. Beautiful Boy demands we do better. As Refinery29's Anne Cohen put it, "it's not exactly an enjoyable film to watch, but perhaps it shouldn't be".

So, while I cried more during this film than I have during any other, I would recommend Beautiful Boy. It's important, it's beautiful, and Chalamet delivers one of the most amazing performances of the year. This isn't just a profoundly moving feat of cinema, it's also a form of education to those who haven't had the misfortune of being directly or indirectly affected by addiction. 

'Beautiful Boy' will have a wide release in UK cinemas on the 18th of January 2019, but released in the US yesterday (October 12th). 

If you need help overcoming a substance addiction there's places for you to turn. You can click here for more information.


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Written by James Green