Beautiful Boy

You can't save everyone. You could graduate, get a job, get a girlfriend, see your family, but it's done. It's already over. A chemical so powerful, you chase that high for the rest of your life; it consumes you, you're drawn to destroying your life. The dad's perspective in this somber, actor-led drama makes you mourn the living. The parallel storytelling of his child, his beautiful boy, compared to the frantic, stammering adult was tragic. The backgrounds, surfing, and nature set monologues balance the tension of addiction and fatherhood so intricately. Timothée Chalamet was incredible; every stage of his addiction, the mannerisms, small facial movements, and soul that gets broken down again and again. From creative, artsy, intelligent, the pressure crushes his spirit into a zombie. His best performance?  The attention he gives, the best dad tries to relate, until it's too late. The needle drops were all cathartic and never overstayed their welcome. I didn't like this ending. He should have died for a realistic drama. Crystal meth addicts don't survive, and that would have sent the message that the end credits did. This had so many slow moments, and they all worked. A beautiful, emotionally traumatizing experience. Would love to see Nic's perspective; his drawings alone were a great exposition dump that glimpsed into the black hole that the drugs filled up. It was the dad's film, and his perspective is what makes the downfall into addiction so selfish and tragic. The plot and filming of pastoral landscapes work really well with singular character moments, where the potential for a better life, childhood, and giving up all meld. Locations hold history and the present abscense of the child you once knew. You just really care about the family; the little siblings' pure love and innocence contrast the morality of a mentally ill thief, a brother and son is slowly lost. His guilty conscience, weeping helplessness ruins the lives of those close to him. A wave of tears. Don't chase that feeling because you can't come home. I have been accidentally seeing so many drug-related films; God is saying something.