Wow. Yeah, it’s one of those stories that you try to imagine what you would do in their situation, but there is really no way. In Beautiful Boy, Bill (Michael Sheen, Jesus Henry Christ) and Kate (Maria Bello, A History of Violence) have become roommates after years of marriage. Suddenly, they face an uncertain future after learning their only son has committed a heinous act. They struggle to come to terms with it without each other. Director Shawn Ku’s feature debut is very well composed and knocked the wind right out of me.
What I can say is that the overall lighting and cinematography was very purposeful and well done. Everything was beautiful as the world crumbles around them. There are very little red or orange tones, instead it is mostly filled with greens and browns.
I’m afraid that Michael Sheen is one of those actors that is so good, they hardly get recognition. It’s a shame, he’s done everything from Frost/Nixon to Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, and has been fantastic in all of them. I wasn’t thinking there was anything special about Maria Bello’s performance until her character is shown happy. It’s not just an emotional change, you can see something inside the character that changed too. That really showed through.
Maria Bello and Michael Sheen star in Anchor Bay Films’ Beautiful Boy. Photo Credit: Justine Mintz, Property of Anchor Bay Films
SPOILER Although I thought the film was very well done, the story was very hard for me to reconcile. I wanted it to be about a couple who through their pain found each other again. However, I couldn’t help but think of the Crosby, Stills & Nash song that goes, “if you can’t be with the one you love, love the one you’re with.” It felt like they ended up comforting each other because they knew that they were the only ones who would know what each other was going through. They didn’t seem to have a genuine love for each other. END SPOILER
It’s so difficult to write about a film that emotionally drained me to the point that I could hardly think afterwards. I was thinking it would leave me hopeful, which it most certainly did not. Perhaps I completely missed the point. I’m glad I saw it, but I want to warn everyone that it’s a tough watch.
Rating: Tough to swallow, but a great drama. 7/10
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