Beautiful Boy

2018 Directed by Felix van Groeningen

After he and his first wife separate, journalist David Sheff struggles to help their teenage son, who goes from experimenting with drugs to becoming devastatingly addicted to methamphetamine.

Steve Carell Timothée Chalamet Maura Tierney Amy Ryan Christian Convery Oakley Bull Kaitlyn Dever Stefanie Scott Julian Works Jack Dylan Grazer Zachary Rifkin Kue Lawrence Timothy Hutton Amy Forsyth Andre Royo Mandeiya Flory Ricky Low LisaGay Hamilton Carlton Wilborn David Mendenhall

Alternative Titles

Querido Menino, Beautiful boy, siempre serás mi hijo, 뷰티풀 보이

drama

111 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by ethan ★★★★ 11

steve carell; *breathes*
the soundtrack; duNDUNDUNDUDNS. A A A A WA A A AHHHHHA A A A A HHHHHHHHH BOOOOMAMAMSMMMMMMMM DUUUUUUUUUJNNNNNMNBNNBJ
Review by brat pitt ★★½ 17

i knoooooow that brad pitt probably didn’t actually contribute that much to the film but i can’t stop imagining him in producer’s meetings ...
-“haha let’s have my The Big Short co-star stevey randomly do coke at this part and then never talk about it again! it’ll be EPIC”
-brad in the editing room: “we need even louder, more horrifying music when the beautiful boy goes missing for the 52nd time to really manipulate the audience into empathizing with the boring dad”
editor: “isn’t this like ... a drama”
brad: “you’re right ... let’s add some jarring classical opera music too!”
editor: “uhhh, but—“
brad: “MUSE WASN’T AVAILABLE WE’LL JUST HAVE TO MAKE DO”
-*tearing up* “my god ... that…
Review by adrianbalboa ★★★½ 10

screening + q&a with timothée “the boy!” chalamet
this is a 2 hour competition of WHO WANTS THE OSCAR MORE? between timmy and steve carell. also during the q&a the microphone was not on and baby boy did not notice
Review by Sean Baker 24

I really like Felix van Groeningen. I have seen The Broken Circle Breakdown and The Misfortunates. Hoping to catch up on the rest of his filmography soon.
Interesting that the PR on this film seems to make it about the opiod epidemic when it's really about methamphetamine addiction. I know people on meth and unfortunately I didn't quite believe the portrayal of it in this film. On a positive note, I thought Steve Carell was quite believable as the enabling dad.
Deluxe screener
Review by Tyler 'Llewyn' ★★½ 9

The music choices in this movie... well they certainly were choices.
Review by Eli Hayes ★★★★★ 30

I was nervous about this film going in, being a big admirer of the book. But it is possibly the most realistic depiction of addiction at a young age that I've ever seen -- right up there with Christiane F. Or maybe it just most accurately reflects my own experience of battling drug addiction. A masterful, music-centric exploration of abnormal psychology and substance dependence. Some viewers may take issue with the soundtrack structure, but I felt it flawlessly articulated all of the appropriate feelings associated with chemical abuse, and the destruction of everything in its wake. I am entirely emotionally eviscerated but, above all else, simply grateful to be alive.

Recent reviews

Review by malaksn ★★★★

boy do steve carrell and timothée chalamet know how to act
Review by abby ★★★

with each passing day I gain more respect for Steve Carell
Review by angel ★★½

boring but i only watched some so... idk
Review by CNCRD ★★★★½

Touching and heartbreaking. Even more because I have an 11 year old boy with a whole life in front of him. That last scene tells everything.
Review by We Love Movies!!! 🎬 ★★★★

Being a father of two teenage boys , the issue of drugs is a worry. Most people who experiment with illegal substances get it out of their system at a certain age without any lasting affect but Beautiful Boy shows what can happen if your body or mind ( or both) can't cope and it's a real eye opener.
Based on the best-selling pair of memoirs from father and son David and Nic Sheff, Beautiful Boy chronicles the heartbreaking and inspiring experience of survival, relapse, and recovery in a family coping with addiction over many years.
If there is ever any doubt that Steve Carell can do straight acting then they are washed away here. He and Timothée Chalamet are…
Review by cassitybunjovac ★★★½

addiction is a disease and this movie clearly illustrated that, very emotional performance by my baby timmy
Review by vinlandoutsold ★★★★

throwback to when i told my grandma to rent this and she rented the beautiful boy from 2010 and we ended up watching a movie about a school shooter
Review by Elizabeth ★★★½

fuck timothée chalamet and fuck this movie
Review by zachariahq ★★★½

There’s a scene in this movie (I’m not a drug addict) that really really hit home with me and my relationship with my father and in a weird way this movie makes me sympathize more with him. I think it would be fascinating to watch this movie as I get older because right now I just compare Steve Carrell to my father and look for reasons what he’s doing isn’t the right thing but he’s just so persistently well-intentioned and I think being removed from like rebellious youth will allow me to stop projecting and see his character as he is. Anyway that’s definitely too personal for this letterboxd review and I’m probably bringing too much of my own shit…