Review of Beautiful Boy (2011) by Kyle S — 10 Apr 2012

Michael Sheen and Maria Bello help push this film into the ranks of great. Although I am giving this film 5 stars, it is far from perfect. Yet the performances and the deeply intimate portrait of this family and the cinimetography are what really make it special.

A special movie indeed...As a psychology student I have to take into account the entire purpose of the film, it shows the perspective of a family grieving which is not new by any means, what makes this film stand on new ground is the fact that it shows a grieving family from the other side of the fence, a grieving family that is not grieving for a lost son that was gunned down in a school shooting.

Their son killed many college students and then killed himself. To see the father and mother suffer with that knowledge and the melancholy feel of the entire film gave me shivers and made my heart wrench for some sort of happy feeling that never came scene after scene I waitied and yet the story still remained downtrodden but in a beautiful way.

At the end of the movie you question your own feelings on a subject of such deep emotion and the film actually makes you feel bad for the boy who comitted the murders...its astonishing how a film can make you feel, and go against your core beliefs yet "Beautiful Boy" did just that.

I dare anyone to watch this film and not have some of your core beliefs shook if not completley shattered. A joy to watch as much as it is a tradgedy, "Beautiful Boy" is a star driven performance that needs to be seen.

...Just needs to be seen.