This film is part of Rentals
Beautiful Boy
Steve Carell and Timothée Chalamet give blistering performances as a father and son in this gripping story of a family dealing with addiction over many years.
Director: Felix Van Groeningen
Overview
David Sheff (Carell) has a life many would envy: a beautiful older teenage son Nic (Chalamet) to whom he is close; two younger children from his happy second marriage to artist Karen (Maura Tierney), a loving stepmother to his first son; a house near the north California coast; and notable success as a journalist with major publications like The New York Times and Rolling Stone. Life is good. An open, communicative father, he isn’t too alarmed when Nic casually experiments with marijuana. Then, without warning, Nic’s interest in drugs transforms, becoming more urgent, desperate even. The boy who loved books, music, surfing and his family is withdrawn, agitated, mercurial and dishonest. By the time David realises what’s happening, Nic is hooked on crystal meth.
Screenwriters Luke Davies (Lion) and Felix Van Groeningen adapts two memoirs (Tweak by Nic and David’s Beautiful Boy) into a powerful and moving account of a father and son’s struggle with addiction and its tragic consequences. Making his English-language debut, Felix Van Groeningen (The Broken Circle Breakdown, Belgica) directs with soulful restraint, allowing Ruben Impens’ (Raw) camera to capture with startling intimacy Carell and Chalamet’s visceral performances, which blaze at the heart of this intelligent, tough and inspiring film.
Related
The Peasants The Peasants
Drama 2023 115 mins Director: Hugh Welchman and Dorota Kobiela
Using an advanced oil painting animation technique, The Peasants is a visually thrilling rendering of Władysław Reymont’s Nobel Prize-winning tale.
The Iron Claw The Iron Claw
Biopic 2023 132 mins Director: Sean Durkin
Compelling sports drama about the real-life Von Erich brothers and their tragic journey to the top of professional 1980s wrestling.
Samsara Samsara
Drama 2023 114 mins Director: Lois Patiño
Berlin Film Festival award winner Lois Patiño’s assured third feature transports us to magical places in Laos and Zanzibar, where the visible and the invisible merge.
Gassed Up Gassed Up
Drama 2023 102 mins Director: George Amponsah
A group of London teenage boys turn to motorbike crime for survival in George Amponsah’s high-octane follow-up to The Hard Stop.
The End We Start From The End We Start From
Drama 2023 102 mins Director: Mahalia Belo
A stunning post-apocalyptic British drama navigating the anxieties of parenthood and the future of the world.
Mami Wata Mami Wata
Drama 2022 107 mins Director: C.J. 'Fiery' Obasi
Filmed in vivid black-and-white, C.J. Obasi’s bold Sundance winning film navigates the conflict between tradition and modernity in a Nigerian coastal village, featuring an incredible oceanic soundscape and hypnotic score.
The Fight The Fight
Drama 2019 91 mins Director: Jessica Hynes
Jessica Hynes’ directorial debut is a life-affirming lesson in the importance of learning to stand up for yourself.
The Blue Caftan The Blue Caftan
Drama 2022 123 mins Director: Maryam Touzani
A married tailor falls for his younger apprentice in Maryam Touzani’s richly textured and sweepingly beautiful exploration of love, desire and tradition.
Small, Slow But Steady Small, Slow But Steady
Drama 2022 99 mins Director: Shô Miyake
Sho Miyake crafts a moving, one-of-a-kind sports film, anchored by Yukino Kishii’s precise, subtle, unsentimental performance as Deaf aspiring boxer Keiko.
Anatomy of a Fall Anatomy of a Fall
Crime 2023 152 mins Director: Justine Triet
Justine Triet's gripping, Palme d'Or-winning psycho-thriller is deeply intelligent with a spellbinding performance from Sandra Hüller.
Anselm Anselm
Biopic 2023 94 mins Director: Wim Wenders
Wim Wenders' stately and beautifully scored study of Anselm Kiefer.
Occupied City Occupied City
Documentary 2023 251 mins Director: Steve McQueen
Steve McQueen’s cinematic commemoration of the Holocaust offers a multidimensional experience full of gravity and sublimity.
Interstellar Interstellar
Science Fiction 2014 169 mins Director: Christopher Nolan
A group of explorers attempt to navigate a wormhole in space, with the hope of saving humanity, in this sci-fi epic from Christopher Nolan.
Out of Darkness Out of Darkness
Horror 2024 87 mins Director: Andrew Cumming
Bringing a whole new meaning to the term ‘period film’, Andrew Cumming’s Palaeolithic horror movie is a true original.
The Peasants The Peasants
Drama 2023 115 mins Director: Hugh Welchman and Dorota Kobiela
Using an advanced oil painting animation technique, The Peasants is a visually thrilling rendering of Władysław Reymont’s Nobel Prize-winning tale.
The Iron Claw The Iron Claw
Biopic 2023 132 mins Director: Sean Durkin
Compelling sports drama about the real-life Von Erich brothers and their tragic journey to the top of professional 1980s wrestling.
Samsara Samsara
Drama 2023 114 mins Director: Lois Patiño
Berlin Film Festival award winner Lois Patiño’s assured third feature transports us to magical places in Laos and Zanzibar, where the visible and the invisible merge.
Gassed Up Gassed Up
Drama 2023 102 mins Director: George Amponsah
A group of London teenage boys turn to motorbike crime for survival in George Amponsah’s high-octane follow-up to The Hard Stop.
Occupied City Occupied City
Documentary 2023 251 mins Director: Steve McQueen
Steve McQueen’s cinematic commemoration of the Holocaust offers a multidimensional experience full of gravity and sublimity.