Beautiful Boy: Heartbreak and Hope.

I first heard of Beautiful Boy when I was looking for something to watch on Amazon Prime video with one of my favorite actors. I had heard bits and pieces about the film, including the two main Actors: Timothee Chalamet (Nic) and Steve Carell (David). Before I watched it, I assumed it was another addiction movie in which the character develops an addiction, recovers, relapses once or twice, and is fine and recovers fully by the end of the film.

That was not the case with this film.

The film follows David Sheff as he and his ex-wife Viki and his current family as they try to help his oldest son Nic with Meth addiction. The movie starts with David and his current wife, Karen, worried as Nic has not been seen for three days. David, who is struggling to deal with his son's addiction, calls hospitals and jails wondering if Nic is there. David knows to do this as it's become routine for Nic to go missing. Nic soon returns, and David convinces him to go to rehab after he steals his younger step-brother's money for drugs and accuses Nic of being high.

The movie throws you right into David and Nic's story. It shows an equal mix of Nic showing improvement and doing much better, making you think he will be okay. Then, something sets Nic off, and he relapses. There is hope throughout, but there are also moments that make you hold your breath and hope Nic will pull through despite struggling in endless rehab programs and being on the street looking for drugs. The movie also shows Nic growing up and David and Vicki caring for him from different parts of California. The film also does a great job of showing the nature and beaches where Nic grew up.

Nic travels to visit his mother each summer per David and Vicki's divorce agreement. Eventually, it stays with her until the last horrific relapse of the movie is shown and the eventual hopeful but still very sad ending.

The story also follows David and his current wife, Karen, as they care for their youngest children while also trying to be a support system for Nic. David's ex-wife, Vicki, also tries to help when, after a relapse in which Nic escapes the hospital, David decides to send Nic to stay with Vicki to see if a rehab program in California will be better equipped to handle Nic's needs.

Nic once again starts showing improvement and gets a job at rehab, a supportive sponsor, and the support of his mother. But again, there are moments of panic as Nic reunites with a former user's girlfriend, and they do heroin together.

David, Karen, and Vicki all try to be as supportive as possible. This movie shows how addiction can affect not just the user but their families as well. Even Nic's younger siblings realize their brother's struggles with addiction and ask David and Karen about him.

The movie follows Nic through more than one terrifying and sometimes deadly overdose. David's fear for his son and how he reaches out to Nic to help despite Nic's resistance. You feel for both of them and want to believe Nic will become sober on his own, but it's impossible. No matter how many times Nic says, he will.

This movie is gut-wrenching in more ways than one. The fear you have when seeing Nic relapse or overdose is intense because you don't know if he will survive or not. The movie shows both heartbreak and hope in a way that many addiction movies try to do but are not as successful as this.

The movie shows hope when you see Nic improving and becoming a healthier and happier version of himself. When he relapses, your heart shatters because it's once again the pattern of drug and alcohol abuse that keeps reappearing and affecting Nic and his family.

David is worried about Nic, and it takes over his life for a while. He is constantly wondering if Nic is ok or not. He is researching meth and even running into fellow addicts to try to find his son and to learn about why they use and if their parents worry about them the way he does for Nic. (The fellow addicts explain their parents never cared about them at all)

David and Karen struggle to figure out how to help Nic, and at times, you fear for their relationship as a couple as they don't agree on how to help Nic.

The movie is sad and intense. You are on the edge of your seat, wondering what will happen next. It teaches you that anyone can be affected by addiction, not just one group of people. It is sad and scary, but it's also hopeful. It shows that despite being addicted, Nic had a loving and supportive family behind him.

A true story also inspired this.

The movie was inspired and used info from David's novel Beautiful Boy and Nic's book Tweak. Nic has been sober for over eight years, is happily married, and lives with his wife in California. His siblings Dasiy and Jasper live nearby. It was later discovered Nic had Bipolar disorder, and Nic and David agreed that if that was caught at an earlier age. He would have been able to avoid addiction to deal with his manic or depressive episodes. Nic is a successful TV producer and author. David is also a successful writer and runs The Beautiful Boy Fund to help people with addiction and their families. David realized that addiction is a disease that is preventable and treatable if people have the right support system.

Beautiful Boy is a very well-done film that shows that addiction doesn't just affect one person. It also shows how, with the right support system and care team, recovery is possible.

Want to support the Beautiful Boy Fund or learn more? Go here

find Tweak and Beautiful Boy on Amazon