Beautiful Boy

There’s are things to admire in Beautiful Boy, Felix Van Groeningen’s (The Broken Circle Breakdown) English language debut.  At the top of the list is Timothée Chalamet’s performance.  He’s nuanced, affecting and natural.  He reaffirms that his amazing turn in Call Me by Your Name wasn’t some fluke. The rising star is someone to watch.  But that is not the attitude I ultimately had while exiting the theater.  There’s an overwhelming feeling of “But why?”  That could be the point. People can turn to drugs even when everything in their life is perfectly peachy. The take may be mildly unique.  It still doesn’t form the basis of a compelling drama

Beautiful Boy is based a true story.  In fact, the saga actually manages to incorporate two memoirs into its tale: Beautiful Boy, an account penned by father David Sheff (Steve Carrel) and Tweak, the recollection of son Nic Sheff embodied here by the aforementioned Timothée Chalamet.  Luke Davies and Van Groeningen adapted both works into one screenplay.  The narrative has this repetitive cycle that begins with a drug-induced ordeal followed by a period of sobriety and then relapse.  Nic comes from an affluent family.  They live in San Francisco.  He’s loved by his Dad who has remarried. His wife Karen (Nic’s stepmother) is cautiously concerned, but compassionate.  Nic’s mother and David’s ex-wife Vicki (Amy Ryan), lives in Los Angeles.  David and Vicki argue long distance over the phone about what is to be done.  Vicki does what she can and provides tangible support when things go wrong.  Nic is surrounded by a lot of loving, supportive people.

There’s a diaphanous glaze of good intentions that infuse the drama.  Steve Carrel is the stereotypical epitome of a wealthy white parent that disciplines by empathetically expressing his disappointment.  It’s not depicted in the film but he seems like one of those parents who punished his toddler by giving them a “timeout”.  His casual parenting style is so laissez-faire that I found it hard to sympathize with him.  At one point Nic feels comfortable enough to offer his father a joint and suggest they smoke it together.  I can honestly say this certainly wasn’t the experience I had growing up.  I think one’s acceptance of the kind of father Steve Carell represents, will cut across a cultural divide.  David expresses frustration with his son’s behavior but without a solution or a means to success.  He’s clearly defeated, but he is so depressingly impotent that he sounds whiny.  This is going to sound glib, but it’s hard for me not to go psychology 101 and prescribe a little tough love in this scenario.  Steve Carell’s character is supremely frustrating.

There’s a lot of good about Beautiful Boy. Its heart is in the right place.  Nic, as portrayed by Timothée Chalamet, seems like a genuine person.  He conveys the heady effect that drugs provide for him.  We get why he keeps relapsing.  That’s not easy to do when every advantage in life has been handed to you on a silver platter.  We understand the intoxicating stranglehold that drugs have on him.  Marijuana leads to cocaine then ecstasy and eventually, crystal meth.  His simple desire to experience that euphoric feeling is a never-ending cycle that leads to a greater high.  Unfortunately, though, we are presented with a repetitive narrative without a compelling point.  There is no satisfying resolution.  Nic fails, says he’s sorry and then he is forgiven.  This occurs several times during the story.  Over and over again.  It’s the cinematic equivalent of “Lather, rinse, repeat.”

10-25-18