Review of Beautiful Boy (2018) by Hepwa — 18 Oct 2018

The beautiful boy in my life was named David and he lived with my friends and I for about a year in the late 90's. I was naive enough to think I knew what drugs he was taking and even more naive in thinking I could help him. He recovered and relapsed multiple times and then, about five years ago, and having fallen mostly out of touch, I read on Facebook that he died. It was terribly sad; a drug overdose that was likely suicide. David was handsome and funny and charmed everyone he would meet and I spent a great deal of time wondering why? How could someone with so many gifts choose self-destruction over and over again?

Living in Vancouver and familiar with the notorious East Side, observed occasionally from the confines of my vehicle, its almost unbearable to dwell on the tragedies and misfortune, broken hearts and broken families that populate Hastings and area. But to focus on how it makes me feel is obviously wrong. I don't have any skin in the game.

Tonight, I watched my most anticipated movie of the year, a valiant effort to dig into those tragedies, those broken families caught in the hurricane of drug addiction. Beautiful Boy is based on two memoirs (primarily "Beautiful Boy" by David Sheff, but also Nic Sheff's "Tweak") condensed by screenwriter Luke Davies and directed by Felix Van Groeningen. Those who follow such things might already know that the film underwent multiple edits to find its final rhythm and while it doesn't always succeed, I admire the director for tossing the Sid Field playbook and attempting to give the film a unique voice. An attentive audience won't get lost, but this subject matter isn't for everyone and I could understand why some might reject it.

The story of a privileged young man who succumbs to the grip of crystal meth addiction is terrifying and infuriating, often at the same time. It is easy to empathize with Steve Carrell's David Sheff, at his wits end and slowly realizing that he has to let go of his grown son and come to grips with the fact that the beautiful boy he knew is now a manipulative, selfish, lying thief who will tear his family apart in order to secure his next fix.

The issue with pacing that has been pointed out by others are slightly overblown, in my opinion, though the criticism of the film's music choices are easier to understand. I'm listening to Sufjan Stevens' "Carrie & Lowell" while writing this and imagining what he could have done with "Beautiful Boy"'s soundtrack like he did for Luca Guadanigno last year.

As an acting showcase, "Beautiful Boy" is a lopsided success. While Steve Carrell has some incredibly touching moments and you can genuinely feel his despair, there are moments where he might be in over his head as a performer. Unfortunately, he disappears in the presence of stronger actors, including Maura Tierney as his noble second wife.

Timothee Chalamet plays Nic Sheff, in a performance that certainly equals his best-of-the-decade work in "Call Me by Your Name" but this is as far from Elio Perlman as you could possibly be. While Elio learned to live with his pain, Nic Sheff learned to live within it, to crave it and surrender to its control of him.

Chalamet's gifts as an actor are just astonishing. Its like watching the severed power line at the end of "The Ice Storm" for two hours, crackling and twisting, fascinating and deadly. You don't learn to do this in acting class. I was already a huge fan. Now I'm just in awe.

And please stay all the way through the end credits. The first half features the song "Treasure" by Sampha but then segues into Chalamet's recitation of the Charles Bukowski poem "Let It Enfold You". It is staggeringly beautiful.