Beautiful Boy follows the story of a the parents of a student who killed people at his university and then killed himself. This is a depressing and bleak outlook on life, which makes it all the more realistic.
THE ACTORS
Michael Sheen and Maria Bello give astounding performances. Michael Sheen is definitely the stand out star though as his descent into depression is completely convincing, not feeling forced or scripted at all. The rest of the supporting cast do a great job in bringing the extremely complex emotions that an outsider to the family would feel about these killers parents.
THE DIRECTOR
This is Shawn Ku’s big screen debut and what a way to make a splash. The direction here is superb, from the shaky cam all the way to the setting just makes this film feel so real. If Ku can continue down this path i feel that his success will evolve and develop in a way that he could potentially become a great modern director.
CONCLUSION
This film is bleak, depressing and realistic, sometimes to its disadvantage. This film stirred up various emotions in me, hatred, pity, sadness and everything in between. The film is relentless in its portrayal of how people are judged based on their friends or family’s actions and it works so well for the film. There are ofcourse, some downsides, there is a scene of nudity which is not necessary and almost drags you out of the story and there are other minor faults but none which detract from the viewing experience. Characters and stories are fleshed out, there are no pacing issues at all, which in a drama of this kind is a rarity.
MY SCORE
8/10