Tag Archives: Steve Carell

Boy, Oh Boy, which film about a young man in crisis should you see?

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  • Beautiful Boy
  • Timothy Chalomet and Steve Carell
  • Boy Erased
  • Lucas Hedges, Nicole Kidman, Russell Crowe
  • Ben is Back
  • Lucas Hedges, Julia Roberts

As we head into Awards Season, there’s one sure bet. At least one film about a young man facing a crisis will be garnering nominations…and possibly all three. Beautiful Boy, Boy Erased, and Ben is Back not only love the letter “B” — they all explore families struggling with addiction or homosexuality as they try to find a way to love their son while his actions threaten to destroy their family life. All three films showcase heart-felt performances by two talented young actors.
Lucas Hedges (Academy Award nominee for Manchester by the Sea) in both Boy Erased, as a Christian teen in conversion therapy and Ben is Back, as a drug addict determined to spend Christmas with family.
Timothée Chalamet (Golden Globe nominee) in Beautiful Boy is the affluent teen who spirals out of control with a meth addiction.

Having seen The Miseducation of Cameron Post, starring the talented
Chloë Grace Moretz, it‘s hard not to compare Lucas Hedge’s performance to hers and find it less-assured. Boy Erased is also about conversion therapy but it’s also a moving look at the relationship between this traumatized young man and his parents. Nicole Kidman gives another nuanced performance as a woman who loves her husband (Russell Crowe) and their religious life, but knows her son is hurting and damaged by the church dogma and this awful practice of forcing him to be someone he’s not.

Ben is Back features another mom/son relationship. Julia Roberts is receiving lots of critical acclaim for her performance as a woman determined to save her son even as she realizes she’s let a demon back into her home. Lucas Hedges is convincing as the young man who knows the truth about his addiction.

When a movie is set in an area you’re familiar with, like Marin County was for me in Beautiful Boy, I think it tends to draw you in even deeper into the story. The juxtaposition of gorgeous settings with depraved behavior made it even more unsettling. For me, the interactions between Steve Carell’s devasted dad and Timothee Chalamet’s helpless lying boy left me weeping and wanting to read both books based on this real struggle: Beautiful Boy: A Father’s Journey Through His Son’s Addiction and Tweak: Growing Up on Methamphetamines.

If you’re only going to see one film of the three, my recommendation would be Beautiful Boy. Heart-breaking but hopeful, and the performances are Award-Worthy. This film is beautiful, mesmerizing and reveals the difficult truth that letting go when all you want to do is hold on, is sometimes the only way to save the one you love.

“Flags of our Fathers” — DFF, Day 3

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Richard Linklater‘s ode to fatherhood and brothers-in-arms is a long road trip with many diversions.  Last Flag Flying features outstanding performances from the cast; the quiet, soulful man that sets the plan in motion, Steve Carell (reminding us that he’s more than a comedian), to the grandstanding, hard-drinking man covering up his shame with booze and broads played by Bryan Cranston.  Laurence Fishburn is a solid straight man who’s found his way and isn’t keen to be tempted off the path. These three men bicker and bound as they go on a journey of redeemtion and brotherhood.

The horrors of war but the joy of war-tested friendship, the deep sadness of not trusting your leaders and fighting for a lost cause, the military’s hypocrisy and easy lies and the state of men’s souls — complex themes for a movie that keeps company with men still recovering from the Vietnam War. Linklater is no stranger to themes of manhood and his work here is a brilliant study in why a lie can change your life, or sooth a weary soul. This is a long journey and the side-trips are a welcome reprieve with some comedy moments that had the audience laughing through their tears.

Drinks with Films Rating: 3 beers and a shot in an Irish bar trying to drown your sorrow

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“Foxcatcher”–the problem of casting against type with large noses

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Foxcatcher still

This photo says it all: two actors cast against type and sporting large prosthetic schnoozes!  There was some buzz about Steve Carell’s amazing performance in Foxcatcher, but with an exaggerated speech pattern and stilted performance as a wealthy wrestling enthusiast, he’s almost a comic book character.  As his obsession (and lover?), Channing Tantum sports a companion fake nose and a comically-stiff walk with so little dramatic range, that his character is hard to root for or to even find like-able.  In contrast, Mark Ruffalo (even in a bad hair piece) gives a restrained performance and exudes the only warmth in the film.  His performance comes off as natural and even though he looks nothing like his supposed brother, there is a warmth and chemistry with Channing Tantum.  He is the only true thing in this over-blown, messy film.

Rating: 1 bottle of beer — with no line of coke as a chaser

Bechdel Rating: Fails

 

Director: Bennett Miller

Writers: E. Max Frye, Dan Futterman