Beautiful Boy
Based on the bestselling pair of memoirs by father and son David and Nic Sheff, Felix van Groeningen’s film chronicles the heart-breaking experience of survival, relapse, and recovery in a family coping with addiction over many years.
David Sheff is a kind, loving, middle-class dad. He and his wife, Vicki, seem to have done everything right for their family. So when son Nic gets addicted to methamphetamine, David can’t believe it, can’t stop it, and can’t help but risk everything to try to get his son back. As he grapples with Nic’s lies, betrayals, and constant flirtations with death, the film reminds us of who Nic used to be – a sweet, thoughtful, beautiful boy.
Fresh from his breakout role in CALL ME BY YOUR NAME, Timothée Chalamet turns in another dazzling performance in BEAUTIFUL BOY. Playing a young man raging and suffering through drug addiction, he confirms his status as one of the very best actors of his generation.
Director Felix van Groeningen brings both realism and poetry to a tragically timely story. As the Sheffs confront the intractable, unpredictable beast of addiction, they must at the same time confront the fact that Nic’s pain might also be his choice.
Tip! Stay seated after the end credits, you will be treated to a beautiful poem by Charles Bukowski.