Like most addiction stories on film, Beautiful Boy follows a particular formula, tracking the cycle of drug abuse from recovery through relapse and back again. Based on the memoirs of father-son Nic and David Sheff, and realized by co-writer Luke Davies and co-writer/director Felix von Groeningen, the film is unflinching in showcasing the effects of abuse on both the abuser the family that cares for him. Filled with quiet, honest performances, the film is affecting and uncomfortable, but also a bit too exhausting, feeling a bit like emotional porn (a big-screen, more focused “This is Us”).
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Call Me By Your Name
Everything about Call Me By Your Name is gorgeous, from the lush Italian setting, to the idyllic 80s backdrop, the nostalgic summer moments, down to the strapping men at the center of it. Young Elio (Timothee Chalamet) is a renaissance teen-fluent in multiple languages, a musical prodigy, avid reader-enjoying his summer when he meets the American Oliver (Armie Hammer), a research assistant working for Elio’s father, and boarding with the family. Elio is fascinated, annoyed, and charmed by Oliver almost instantly and he must struggle through his evolving feelings towards him. Only it’s not that much of a struggle, and that is the beauty of the film.