The 2018 drama film, Beautiful Boy, is based on a true story and was directed by Felix Van Groeningen. This is one of the best drama films I have seen, it is moving, incredibly intense, and nonetheless realistic. This film unveils the true struggles of drug abuse, it portrays the perspectives of both the family members and the person struggling with drug abuse in a harsh reality. This film stars Steve Carell and Timothee Chalamet, Carell plays the character David Sheff and Chalamet plays his son, Nicolas Sheff. 

Something I really appreciated about this film was that it was not predictable, and it did not shy away from showing the tedious process between relapse and recovery. Most films that attempt to portray the true struggles of drug abuse fail to show everybody’s perspectives, this film excelled at making sure to include how not only Nic was affected but how his family and relationships were targeted as well. In the beginning of this film, we see Nic as a child and how his relationships with his family played out. It is prominent that Nic prefers staying with his dad because they are close but this all changes when his addiction starts up. As Nics addiction progresses, the emotional pull from his family is striking and it is evident that he is struggling within himself and resorting to harmful habits. 

Throughout this film, Nic gets in and out of his addiction, he gets help and then relapses almost immediately, each time worsening. Nearing the end of the film, Nic experiences something very traumatic and out of fear he resorts back to drugs, this time he overdoses and is left unconscious on the bathroom floor of the diner. After almost experiencing death, Nic changes and finally commits to being sober, his family sticking with him the entire journey. As an audience, we see just how hard it is for Nic to dig out of this hole he created, and we see how much Nic wanted to change to be a better person but had massive difficulties changing how he lived his life.