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Here, fully clothed, hes jumpy, furtive, now defiant, now twisted with shame.
At times, hes as raw as a little boy, at others a hardened liar.
That means long stretches of Steve Carell bulging his eyes and looking strenuously pained.
But in that case, it would have to seem like Carells choice instead of his limitation.
This makes for a lively, varied palette but not an especially illuminating one.
(Whose big idea was it to use Sunrise, Sunset, I wonder?
Its not just on the nose it breaks the nose.)
The movie might be an instance of the subjects being too close to the moviemakers.
Its a welcome break when Amy Ryan enters the film as Nics mother, who lives in Los Angeles.
And then theres Chalamet…
Despite the unevenness and splintered syntax,Beautiful Boyfinally takes hold.
Nics first relapse is nightmarish, his second… also nightmarish.
To complain of repetition is to miss the point.
Its the repetition that wears people down addicts and parents and friends alike.
Hows his iambic pentameter?
I smell something rotten in Denmark if he has the technical skills.
Beautiful Boyhas an ending that is at once open and conclusive.
Will Nics recovery take?
The conclusive thing is the twin memoirs and the movie.
Now Nic doesnt just owe it to his parents and himself to stay clean.
He owes it to us and Timothee Chalamet.
