And thats especially clear when he runs into people from his past. Holly uses the kit and desperately tries to revive him, while sobbing for him to "come back" to her. When Neal calls Dolly, Ben is still out of sight. It is almost laughable to watch Julia Roberts wandering around a site full of addicts on a dark winter night searching for her child. [Peter and Lucas Hedges never meant to make a movie together.]. - Opioid addiction affects not only the addict but the whole family. SAMEER AL-DOUMY/AFP via Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- More than 10 months after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion into neighboring Ukraine, the two countries are engaged in a struggle for control of areas throughout eastern and southern Ukraine. A woman tells another woman, "You can't help them. His sister and stepfather are, however, deeply. Newton is quite good, too, as the familys voice of reason. Ben Is Back also traverses the same territory as the recent, better drama, Beautiful Boy, about a young mans addiction and the impact it had on his father and family. People and institutions doctors, police officers and pharmacists, as well as her kids are supposed to listen, and to accede to her wishes. Ben has something hes not saying. How can he live with what hes done? On a trip to . After looking for Ben all night, Holly is overwrought and goes to a police station. The film opens as he returns from his stint at rehab on Christmas Eve. While maintaining the unity of action and time, the movie also features a lot of outdoor locations. However, Ben returns to life at the movies end with a jolt. Bens much younger half-siblings (Mia Fowler and Jakari Fraser) and the family dog, for their part, adore him unreservedly. Ben demands Holly goes home, but she refuses. Mom is too blinded by her love of her son to notice how bad he is. "Ben Is Back" takes place in snowy, idyllic, small-town New York, and Ben comes from a family of comfort and means. I never fully buy into its truth but this is one of those rare Hollywood movies that keeps you guessing. and Ben's already shaky confidence takes a major hit. #everycopycounts support vendors this winter. Read her answers to our Movie Love Questionnaire here. If anyone can solve Bens problems can bring Ben back to the sweet, smart, decent boy he used to be its surely his mom. Telling her she does not know the real "him," Ben reveals that his sponsor told him not to return home and that he did not get the drugs Holly found from a girl at the support group but rather hidden in the attic above his younger siblings' bedroom. As the winter darkness descends, mother and son enter an inferno of grieving parents, sexual predators, ruthless dealers and hollowed-out users. Bens way of being in the world, as he swings from anger to panic to heartfelt promise-making to abject remorse, looks like a familiar performance. Ben soon makes eye contact with a man who is presumably linked to his drug-dealing. The storyline revolves around Ben Burns, an athlete dealing with opioid addiction. "Ben Is Back" hands down is the most emotional movie of the year. [Read our critics top 10 films of the year.]. Subscribe to learn more about the movies you love! On the other hand, Ford Wheeler, the set decorator of Stranger Than Fiction fame, took up the role of production designer in the movie. He has a secret. Pockets. This is humiliating. No, this is love. Hollys oblivious. Free to go. You didnt check my shoes. Then Holly becomes concerned. Ben Is Back has been added to your Cart . The website's critics consensus reads, "Refreshingly understated, Ben Is Back subverts family drama stereotypes - and provides a forum for terrific performances from Lucas Hedges and Julia Roberts. The film received generally favorable reviews from critics, who praised the performances of Hedges and Roberts, but grossed just $12 million against its $13 million budget. However, with some help from Ben (he leaves Dollys phone number in the note outside the car), Dolly finds the vehicle parked by a house. Her tics and her smile are overly familiar, but her performance does work when she is being empathetic. A woman hands her son a cup and tells him to provide a urine sample for drug testing. He has sworn that he wont, and part of him doesnt want to, but the other part has made him a liar, and worse, many times before. The film begins when 19-year-old Ben Burns reappears in his house in Yonkers, New York, just in time for Christmas. Be aware that while we do our best to avoid spoilers it is impossible to disguise all details and some may reveal crucial plot elements. tipsy bartender emma break up; asl sign for coast guard [12], According to the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 81% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 221 reviews, with an average rating of 6.9/10. And hes with his mother Holly, played by Julia Roberts. He exploited his wifes prescriptions to become a drug dealer, and Ben perhaps owes him some money. She wants to support and protect her beloved oldest child without endangering or alienating the rest of the family, and in spite of everything that has happened she still has unwavering faith in her own maternal powers. But shes not paying full attention. Although Maggies father smashes the windowpane of Dollys car out of vengeance, he seemingly has not abducted Ponce. Ben's mom, Holly (Julia Roberts), is relieved and welcoming but wary of her son staying clean. Even after the menacing, hooded figure skulking around near the driveway is recognized as a son and brother (played by Lucas Hedges), the queasy feeling of terror doesnt quite abate. Ben tries to buy his dog back, but Clayton says Ben must do a drug run for him. A young man smokes from a vaping device in a few scenes (outside and in a car). Driving out to an abandoned barn, he parks on the side of the road. But Anastasia can be easily confused, I guess, so asks for a clear roadmap. He then says we need gas. All Ben Is Back Videos. Melissa McCarthy Says 'Bridesmaids' Originally Had a Strip . Ben, an addict 77 days sober arrives back at the family home unexpectedly. A young man speeds away from a gas station leaving his mother inside alone and with no ride. But she think she is. SPOILERS AHEAD. 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. Added . 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 per sources, a few scenes were even lensed at a property on Johnsontown Road, simply known as The Farm. business Retail. It sure feels like it. When the title character shows up early in Ben Is Back just before Christmas, at his familys big house in a suburban town north of New York City the mood tilts from domestic drama toward domestic horror. As for whether there are sparks between Rodriguez and Shookus, a representative for the baseball star told Page Six "there is absolutely zero there," adding: "They've been friends for 15 years." Ben concocts that he took the drug from the girl at the meeting, but he later comes clean that he found the bit in the attic room. 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. A woman walks alone in a dark alley and finds her son's phone in a garbage dumpster. As Bens stepdad puts it: if he was black hed be in prison. A woman takes her son to a cemetery and asks him where he wants to be buried. That is both a blessing and a curse. Ben and Holly talk and talk trying to gain understanding of the situation. But what if she cant? "Ben is Back," written and directed by Peter Hedges and starring his son, Lucas Hedges, is one of two recent films on teen addiction starring the most talented young actors of the moment (" Beautiful Boy " starred Timothee Chalamet.) Hollys parental crisis is also a social crisis. Bens sister Ivy (Kathryn Newton) is all eye-rolling cynicism at this latest outbreak of sobriety. This isnt a matter of ego or showboating. Filming also went underway in Garnerville, which was formerly known as Calicotown. A young man says, "You're still scared of me," to his family. This is especially true regarding a subplot about a young woman who died as a result of Ben getting her hooked on drugs. From Spider, Dolly knows about the hideout in exchange for the drugs Dolly retrieved from Ben at the shopping mall. Ben is Backs troubled white guy plot may be wearing thin but the addiction drama has moments of brilliance, says Cath Clarke. This movie chronicles 24 hours in the life of a family after the oldest son comes home from rehab one Christmas eve. hockeydabeast413 live feed man in love taiwan movie why did alice leave tattoo fixers cosmetology school lawrence, ks rtgs vs pesalink. The maternal side of Holly tells Ivy and Ben that he may stay for Christmas before going back to rehab, but-. Support our vendors to earn as much as they can and give them a fighting chance this Winter. | profanity glossary |. Back to the Future (1985) Universal Pictures. Hedges fares even worse. Now, with Ben is Back, director Peter Hedges has created something a little bit different: a half-and-half movie with plenty of standard-issue addiction drama courtesy of Julia Roberts as a suburban mum trying to keep her 19-year-old son off opioids at Christmas. Im Peter Hedges, writer and director of Ben Is Back. Ben Burns, played by Lucas Hedges, comes home unexpectedly on Christmas Eve Day. Her best moments have Holly making some questionable decisions, thoughher heart is in the right place. A young man tells another young man, "I thought you were dead." How much more damage will he do, to them and to himself? She knows that Ben is in another town, but Dolly lies that they split up to cover more ground. Helmed by Peter Hedges, the 2018 drama Ben Is Back is a refreshing and nuanced addiction movie about drugs and how they affect society. 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? The questions his behavior creates for the people who love him are equally excruciating. In addition, the team toured Mamaroneck, lensing a few enticing sequences on location. A young man says that his mother found him upside down on the stairs with a needle in his arm and that his dog was trying to keep him awake. Furthermore, the crew filmed scenes in Larchmont, an affluent village situated along the Mamaroneck River. Ben Is Back takes place in snowy, idyllic, small-town New York, and Ben comes from a family of comfort and means. Hedgess film may speak truths about issues of addiction and recovery, and the hell that addicts put their families through, but it cudgels viewers by having the characters talk about rigorous honesty" and truth as they obviously and ironically lie and connive. Upon the arrival she is first shocked and then overjoyed to see her. It is as if he has come home from prep school, not rehab. Add to Cart . All at their highest rate in 40 years. A challenge in a movie like this for its makers as well as its audience is that there are few original or satisfying answers to any of those. A man slams a passenger car window and pounds on the hood of the car as a woman and her son speed away. The Bottom Line Nerve-racking but not bleak or without humor. "One of the 50 Coolest Websitesthey simply tell it like it is" - TIME, The current economic climate has reduced our revenues. He also keeps Ben and Hollys ordeal safely within the boundaries of convention, focusing on the particulars of one familys pain. But shes also been burned enough times to know that she must quickly and quietly clean out the pills from her medicine cabinet and gather valuables from her jewelry box. Anyone can read what you share. Shortly after Neal and Holly argue over Ben's arrival, there's a scene focusing on Ben's interaction with his young siblings. When Dolly gets to the shabby house, she finds Ponce barking outside the home. Shes thrilled and terrified, and the brilliantly expressive Roberts makes both of those sensations visible simultaneously. And Ben has a secret. The demon her son has been battling turns out to be a monster whose tentacles are everywhere and whose appetites are beyond reckoning. In fulfilling the assignment, Clayton offers Ben a pouch of the drug to reward Bens service in the smuggling operation. And she thinks shes covered all the tracks. He tells Holly he needs to go to a support group meeting, where he later shares the story of how he almost overdosed, but was saved by his mom and the family dog, Ponce. 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? 19-year-old Ben Burns unexpectedly returns home to his family's suburban home on Christmas Eve morning. You can help us keep our independence with a donation. 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? Its like shes seeing him completely for the first time, and its shattering all over again. (Particularly so soon after another film about a privileged young addict Beautiful Boy.) Symmetry opens the film. As is the cost of rent. Stepdad Neal (Courtney B Vance), whos paying for the rehab, is stony faced. Dec 21, 2018. Ben Is Back SUBSTANCE USE - A woman puts prescription medications from a medicine cabinet in a bag and hides them in a closet, a young woman tells a young man that he was her dealer, many people using drugs stand around barrel fires and seem high, a young man delivers money to a drug dealer and returns to another dealer with drugs (the dealer tastes the drugs and gives the delivery person a . So when the White House dodged the issue this week, I knew I had to talk about it. He doesnt have the desperation that Timothe Chalamet displayed in Beautiful Boy that made that performance resonate. Additional filming went underway at the Super Seven convenience store, located at 75 Orange Turnpike in Sloatsburg. I thought you were dead, one guy at the mall says off-handedly. (But were still going to focus on the sad rich, straight, young white guys.). Abruptly leaving Dolly behind, Ben goes to Claytons place. Ben was written and directed by Peter Hedges and it's clear it was crafted for his son, who stars as the titular troubled young man. How much should my pay rise to beat inflation? - Drug addiction, the opioid crisis, guilt, honesty, giving up on people, fear, truth, trust, support groups, rehab. While we read all emails & try to reply we do not always manage to do so; be assured that we will not share your e-mail address. Ben is back! Ben Is Back NYT Critic's Pick Directed by Peter Hedges Drama R 1h 43m By A.O. The crew filmed some scenes in Sloatsburg, a village in the town of Ramapo in Rockland County. Ben sees his childhood friend, Spencer, also a drug addict. The moments between Ben and Holly talking in the kitchen or tackling crowds at the mall during some last-minute shopping are the films strongest. And the later scenes reveal that Ben has taken the drug nonetheless. The scene is a delight. Ben has been in rehab for quite a few months, struggling with an Oxycotin addiction. Returning from Ivy, Liam, and Laceys performance at the Christmas choir, they find that the room has been broken in. Following Claytons order, Ben agrees to do the job, sticking several belts of drugs onto his body. Filming reportedly kicked off in late 2017 and continued through early 2018. Was Ben Is Back, about an addicts unexpected return home, meant to be a holiday hate-watch? I n its early scenes, Ben Is Back is more unpredictable and slyly entertaining than its earnest-sounding premise might suggest. The constant push-pull between Hedges and Roberts, the see-saw of the power dynamic as each tries to navigate this thorny situation, is the most compelling element of Ben Is Back. All the demons are still there, all the memories and the things Ben cant remember. We see a photo of a woman wearing a camisole that reveals cleavage. But other scenes are directed with the pure suspense of a thriller. - About 31 F-words and its derivatives, 22 scatological terms (1 mild), 3 anatomical terms, 2 mild obscenities, name-calling (liar, phony, stupid, junkie, drug addict), exclamations (shut-up, freaking out), 4 religious profanities, 19 religious exclamations (e.g. She may be too deep in her own suffering, and the film may be too absorbed in her feelings, to grasp that fully. Vance, as the skeptical stepdad, takes a thinly-written role and makes it meatier. Holly is eager to make Bens unexpected arrival seem as normal as possible, laughing too hard at his jokes and buzzing about the kitchen in a flurry of activity. Did you know you can now filter searches by any combination of ratings? Furious, she takes him to the cemetery, asking him where he would like to be buried. Her son tries to start it but is unsuccessful. 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 . A woman pounds on a fitting room door and yells obscenities at her son behind the door before they are asked to leave the store. Holly has two kids with her second husband ( Courtney B. Vance) in addition to Ben and his younger sister, Ivy ( Kathryn Newton ), from her first. After pressure from her husband, she insists she will stick to Ben for the next 24 hours. Become a member of our premium site for just $2/month & access advance reviews, without any ads, not a single one, ever. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. A young man talks about people in a car flatulating repeatedly. Hollywood films about addiction tend to be tasteful, well-meaning awardsy dramas. But thats what Holly (and Hedges) does. Menu. Julia Roberts films Ben Is Back in sub-zero weather https://t.co/kmKOaHd0oB #Yonkers pic.twitter.com/LPHHL3bZh3, YonkersRU (@YonkersRoundup) January 8, 2018. Roberts never quite disappears into her role as a sacrificial mom. Ben is in recovery from heroin addiction. Looks like shes gonna have you try on the whole store. I love what both actors are bringing to this scene. And then she checks him because she has concerns. The storyline revolves around Ben Burns, an athlete dealing with opioid addiction. View Cart . But even more so, it's also a movie about redemption that reflects Jesus' lesson in the Book of Luke through a powerful illustration of forgiveness. But this is one of those rare Hollywood movies that keeps you guessing, where you dont see the ending coming 20 minutes in. Gary M. Kramer is a writer and film critic based in Philadelphia. Suburban shopping mall parking lots are magical places. Meanwhile, Holly goes to Maggie's mom for help, who gives her a med kit for reviving a person who has suffered an overdose and her car keys to go find Ben. But their journey is neither as harrowing nor as emotionally draining as the filmmaker thinks it is. "ben is back" is filled with harshly poignant scenes, e.g., when holly goes cold at the very sight of the doctor who prescribed heavy doses of painkillers for ben when her son was 14, or when holly has a harrowing encounter with a childhood friend of ben's who has been ravaged by addiction and cries out, "i changed your diapers," and wonders how He progresses to leave Ponce in the car, heading to a drug den to die from the guilt. [10], In July 2018, LD Entertainment, Roadside Attractions and Lionsgate acquired distribution rights to the film, which they released on December 7, 2018. 1. Ben Is Back is a film about addiction-what it's like to be a recovering addict, and what it's like to love one. One of the cruelties of addiction is the way it strips away individuality, making all addicts stories the same. GreatMartin. Bens sister, Ivy (Kathryn Newton), wants him gone. Therefore, the chances are that the guy who read the note called Dolly to inform Ponces location. 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. Ben Burns: I love five people and Ponce is two of them. We welcome suggestions & criticisms -- and we accept compliments too. It's Christmas Eve, and well-heeled suburban mom Holly (Julia Roberts) returns home to find her wayward and recovering-addict teenage son, Ben (Lucas Hedges), pacing shiftily in the driveway. Theres this dangerous something coursing through him. But Julia Roberts puts everyone in the shade, even Hedges one of my favourite young actors (he played Casey Afflecks nephew in Manchester By the Sea). At Family Day, Queen Leah, Audrey's grandmother, believes Mal is Maleficent and causes a scene. And a scene between the two mothers is painful, but in a manipulative, not heartbreaking way. They end up at the home of Maggies father Bens ex-girlfriend, who died from a presumed drug overdose. We see snippets of a sleepy town, zooming into a Christmas choir. And she thinks shes covered all the tracks. Dolly gets nervous, and Neals worries trouble her more since she wants to give Ben a chance. 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. The hamlet in the town of Haverstraw features in several scenes, a highlighted location being Sparkys Diner. All rights reserved. He uses the same outline here: theres a screw-up title character (Lucas Hedges, the directors son) with a suffering/domineering mother named Holly (Julia Roberts), an insufferably perfect sister named Ivy (Katherine Newton) as well as a benign-ish father (Courtney B. Vance) all hoping Ben doesnt spoil everything as he always does. Ultimately, Roberts just seems miscast. Reproduction of material from any Salon pages without written permission is strictly prohibited. The filmmaker previously made the enjoyable and piquant holiday-themed comedy-drama, Pieces of April, about a dysfunctional family at Thanksgiving. Spencer shows up and, after a tussle, he confirms that Clayton, a drug dealer he used to work for, took Ponce. Stepfather are, however, Ben is Back has been battling turns to... Man slams a passenger car window and pounds on the side of the drug nonetheless draining the! From Ben at the family home unexpectedly on Christmas Eve for her child dodged the issue this,! Read our critics top 10 films of the year. ] he may stay Christmas... Crew filmed scenes in Sloatsburg, a village in the town of Haverstraw features several. To learn more about the hideout in exchange for the drugs Dolly retrieved from Ben the! Holiday hate-watch, `` you 're still scared of me, '' to his family sobriety! At a property on Johnsontown road, simply known as the filmmaker made..., lensing a few months, struggling with an Oxycotin addiction, so asks for clear. And continued through early 2018 sleepy town, zooming into a Christmas choir him, while sobbing for him answers... Upon the arrival she is being empathetic with his mother Holly, played by Lucas never... To revive him, while sobbing for him to the shabby house, takes... Her role as a sacrificial mom is strictly prohibited demon her son to concerned and panicked mother is,! Both of those sensations visible simultaneously, he parks on the hood of the to. 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