Review of Beautiful Boy (2011) by Ryan O — 24 Dec 2011

Fair warning, Beautiful Boy is a dark film, with dark tones. It is by no means a "happy" film, nor does it pretend that it wants to be one. You're not going to find the answers to the questions you may have, and rightly so, the parents fantastically portrayed by Maria Bello and Michael Sheen aren't able to find the answers to their questions either. And that's the point.

Beautiful Boy is told from the point of view of the parents of a boy who commits a mass murder at his university before killing himself. Director Shawn Ku smartly puts together a film that focuses on life after the tragic event. As a viewer, you won't see the event, and you don't need to. Instead, you're a fly on the wall on how these parents cope with the tragedy after the fact. Dealing with each other, the onslaught of the media camping out on their front lawn and lack of an answer solely - Why?

This is a devastating film from the onset and the last 30 minutes are emotionally draining. Its been several days since I watched this film and it will continue to haunt you long after. Maria Bello and Michael Sheen deserve some Award consideration come Oscar/Golden Globe time.