And Julias switch from happy mother shopping with her son to concerned and panicked mother is Mom, it was a joke. so powerful. Excuse me can I get a key to this door, please? This scene is a microcosm for the film that in Holly, at the beginning, you see the hope she has that this is going to be a fun thing. Ben, an addict 77 days sober arrives back at the family home unexpectedly. As is the cost of rent. How does any addict? After mall PDA, AJ Raval insists Aljur Abrenica just . I n its early scenes, Ben Is Back is more unpredictable and slyly entertaining than its earnest-sounding premise might suggest. But thats what Holly (and Hedges) does. If anyone can solve Bens problems can bring Ben back to the sweet, smart, decent boy he used to be its surely his mom. Let us know what you think in the comments below. Buy Tickets to Ben Is Back: https://www.fandango.com/ben-is-back-213738/movie-overview?cmp=CSYT_YouTube_DescWant to be notified of all the latest clips and behind the scenes footage? And then theres Julia Roberts. Nevertheless, the scene falls flat and feels preachy. Lucas Hedges plays the titular Ben, a recovering heroin addict, and Julia Roberts is Ben's loving mom. Gary M . Film directors walk viewers through one scene of their movies, showing the magic, motives and the mistakes from behind the camera. Ben is jumpy, shaky, perhaps not ready for this yet. - Drug addiction, the opioid crisis, guilt, honesty, giving up on people, fear, truth, trust, support groups, rehab. Dolly says that Ben is with her, but Ivy has installed trackers on the cell phones of the house. Was Ben Is Back, about an addicts unexpected return home, meant to be a holiday hate-watch? A measure of privilege is baked into this assumption, and Ben Is Back is partly about the way the current scourge of opioid and heroin addiction has contributed to the demoralization of the American middle class. Prices of energy and food are rising rapidly. Subscribe to learn more about the movies you love! When Dolly gets to the shabby house, she finds Ponce barking outside the home. "Ben Is Back" hands down is the most emotional movie of the year. Hi. He slips meaningful little asides into out-of-the-way places. Shes going to get clothes for him. A young man talks about having an arrangement with his history teacher for drugs (possible sexual activity is implied). During the 24 hours that may change their lives forever, Holly must do everything in her power to avoid the family's downfall.Watch More: Coming Soon to Theaters: http://bit.ly/2mkFBqr Movie Clips: http://bit.ly/2FrP8VL Movie Trailers: http://bit.ly/2GlOAkMFuel Your Movie Obsession: Subscribe to COMING SOON: http://bit.ly/2CMX5D1 Watch Movieclips ORIGINALS: http://bit.ly/2D3sipV Like us on FACEBOOK: http://bit.ly/2DikvkY Follow us on TWITTER: http://bit.ly/2mgkaHb Follow us on INSTAGRAM: http://bit.ly/2mg0VNUThe Fandango MOVIECLIPS COMING SOON channel is home to all the movie clips, trailers, behind the scenes videos, and more from the best upcoming movies. The elder Hedges needs to make amends. A young man chases another young man out of a diner, he shoves him against a wall and into a pile of garbage bags and the young man on the ground gets up and punches the other young man in the face and then runs away. They search for Ponce together to no avail. Ben and Holly talk and talk trying to gain understanding of the situation. Newton is quite good, too, as the familys voice of reason. Peter Hedges narrates a scene from his film featuring Lucas Hedges and Julia Roberts. And then she checks him because she has concerns. Stars: Dan Russell, Teresa Gallagher, Kerry Shale, Kyla Rae Kowalewski. A drug addicted teenage boy shows up unexpectedly at his family's home on Christmas Eve. Review: 'Ben Is Back' Takes A Wrong Turn Along The Way The first half is a tense, painfully real family drama about the lingering toll of opioid addiction; the second half lurches into thriller . What Hedges wants to do here is make you feel the dread and nausea of a parent living with a teenage addict the prickle of fear walking into his bedroom. See ratings & reviews at Critics.com. New & Used (35) from $3.78 + $3.99 shipping. By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from the Big Issue and our partners. Shes always worried. Lost and dejected, Dolly calls Neal, illustrates the situation, and goes to the police station to file a diary. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. What they dont say to each other is as important as what they do say. And since Clayton is the last person Ben imagined as the culprit behind the break-in, he does not want Dolly to go there. It was a crucial junction in the filming schedule. THE ASSIGNED NUMBERS As the film suggests, his list of sins is wide and deep, and many of his past indiscretions will be revealed, like doors opening on an Advent calendar, over the course of the story. Hollys parental crisis is also a social crisis. He has been to rehab a few times, and his return brings more menace than peace for the family of Dolly Burns ( Julia Roberts ), her second husband, Neal Beeby, and the family. Suburban shopping mall parking lots are magical places. Peter Hedges, whose previous features as a director are Pieces of April, Dan in Real Life and The Odd Life of Timothy Green, keeps his sentimental tendencies on ice here. Ben Is Back Review: A Mother and Son Face the Horrors of Addiction, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/05/movies/ben-is-back-review.html. As she follows Ben through an increasingly harrowing day and night, Holly gets a tour of an underworld that exists in the shadows of her sunny, stable reality. Helmed by Peter Hedges, the 2018 drama Ben Is Back is a refreshing and nuanced addiction movie about drugs and how they affect society. The production team supposedly lensed segments in Haywards Deli, a deli at 59 Orange Turnpike. As per sources, a few scenes were even lensed at a property on Johnsontown Road, simply known as The Farm. She knows that Ben is in another town, but Dolly lies that they split up to cover more ground. Bens much younger half-siblings (Mia Fowler and Jakari Fraser) and the family dog, for their part, adore him unreservedly. Just as his performance in Boy Erased failed to convince he was struggling with his sexuality, Hedges never seems to be truly fighting addiction here. Following Claytons order, Ben agrees to do the job, sticking several belts of drugs onto his body. Know when new reviews are published We will never sell or share your email address with anybody and you can unsubscribe at any time, We will never sell or share your email address with anybody and you can unsubscribe at any time, Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody. - Opioid addiction affects not only the addict but the whole family. Ben Is Back ends on a note of vague hope, but its a reminder that Christmas Day is just one more opportunity to take it one day at a time. Lucas Hedges, like Timothe Chalamet in Beautiful Boy, the seasons other alliteratively titled tale of a young man fighting a drug habit, deftly captures the nuances of this condition. A young man speeds away from a gas station leaving his mother inside alone and with no ride. That evening, the family returns home from church to find that someone has broken into their home and taken Ponce. This is supposed to be such a joyous timethe most wonderful time of the year, evenbut expectations and regrets can serve as triggers, adding to the anxiety of the season. A woman walks alone in a dark alley and finds her son's phone in a garbage dumpster. In addition, the team toured Mamaroneck, lensing a few enticing sequences on location. Unlike the MPAA we do not assign one inscrutable rating based on age but 3 objective ratings for SEX/NUDITY, VIOLENCE/GORE & LANGUAGE on a scale of 0 to 10, from lowest to highest depending on quantity & context |more|, Print a page, share with friends, and yes, please go ahead and email links. Im Peter Hedges, writer and director of Ben Is Back. Ben Burns, played by Lucas Hedges, comes home unexpectedly on Christmas Eve Day. Putin's forces in November pulled out of key positions, retreating from Kherson as Ukrainian troops led a counteroffensive targeting . His survivors guilt never feels as palpable as her mothers (Rachel Bay Jones) grief. I never fully buy into its truth but this is one of those rare Hollywood movies that keeps you guessing. Clayton, according to Ben, is a dangerous person, and Ben is not ready to risk Dollys life when he meets Clayton. Dec 21, 2018. Can they trust him? A woman tells another woman, "You can't help them. Her son tries to start it but is unsuccessful. Mom is too blinded by her love of her son to notice how bad he is. The filmmaker previously made the enjoyable and piquant holiday-themed comedy-drama, Pieces of April, about a dysfunctional family at Thanksgiving. It is all calculated emotional button-pushing. Acclaimed director Peter Hedges ('Dan In Real Life') reared the 2018 familial micro-drama movie 'Ben Is Back' starring his son Lucas Hedges (' Manchester by the Sea '). Can you please just exit the store? Yes. The range where they both go in the scene, the number of places they go, is emblematic of all the places we go in the film.. Her best moments have Holly making some questionable decisions, thoughher heart is in the right place. On a trip to . Ben is around 20 years old (at which age I too was also . Upon the arrival she is first shocked and then overjoyed to see her. Become a member of our premium site for just $2/month & access advance reviews, without any ads, not a single one, ever. (Particularly so soon after another film about a privileged young addict Beautiful Boy.) While Neal and Ivy may be against it, Dolly will probably reattempt to integrate Ben into society. Ben Is Back NYT Critic's Pick Directed by Peter Hedges Drama R 1h 43m By A.O. Before that, she was the film critic for The Associated Press for nearly 15 years and co-hosted the public television series "Ebert Presents At the Movies" opposite Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, with Roger Ebert serving as managing editor. However, Mr. Richmond did not abduct Ponce, making Holly and Ben move on to the next house. But once again, Roberts gives a gripping performance as a mother coming to new realizations about the child she thought she finally understood. And then watching how she can, on a dime, flip from the happy mom to panicked mom and fierce mom Where did you get this? What's coming to your cinema in 2023, For your consideration the potential 2023 Oscar winners, We spent a day streaming bad Christmas movies and this is what it did to our brain, Here's when people will get the next cost of living payment in 2023, 'My elderly mother was in an ambulance for 18 hours. Dolly seeks to accept Ben, but Ben has ways to mess things up. With the help of Liam and Lacey, Ben goes to the attic room and finds his old stash. This isnt a matter of ego or showboating. Ben Is Back Ending, Explained: Is Ben Dead or Alive. Filming reportedly kicked off in late 2017 and continued through early 2018. Symmetry opens the film. It is a big BUT uttered from Holly's tough love side. Dolly gets nervous, and Neals worries trouble her more since she wants to give Ben a chance. Clayton is not convinced by what Ben has to offer, and Ben has to do another job for Clayton if he wants to take Ponce back. Let us get to the ending. Reports suggested that a few sequences in the film may have been lensed along Beach Avenue and Linden Avenue as well. Scott Dec. 5, 2018 When the title character shows up early in "Ben Is Back" just before Christmas, at his. Still, she hides her jewellery at the top of the wardrobe. Admittedly, you may feel like youve had your fill of troubled rich white guys with all their second chances and five-star rehab opportunities. Ben Is Back is a 2018 American drama film written and directed by Peter Hedges, and starring Julia Roberts, Lucas Hedges and Courtney B. Vance. Im Peter Hedges, writer and director of Ben Is Back. Ben Burns, played by Lucas Hedges, comes home unexpectedly on Christmas Eve Day. And thats especially clear when he runs into people from his past. $12.49 FREE Shipping Get free shipping Free shipping within the U.S. when you order $25.00 of eligible items shipped by Amazon. A young man talks about being able to defecate regularly now that he is not using drugs. And it works, mostly. Not added . You can learn to parallel park there, you can make out with your high school boyfriend . Ben goes with mother, stepdad (Courtney B. Vance) and siblings to an evening church service, at which his sister (Kathryn Newton) is the featured singer, despite an apparent inability to sing in.