Filmic Friday 206: Ben is Back

A few weeks ago, Z & I went on a movie date. Our choice of films is strange at the best of times, but this time was strange even for us.

And yeah, that's a pretty good description of the movie in a single moment.

So what is Ben is Back about?

Julia Roberts is a mother getting ready for Christmas with her second husband. Everything is great. They have money, they have space, they have everything they need.

And then Ben (Lucas Hedges) comes home from rehab early.

The younger siblings & Holly (Roberts) are thrilled to have their brother home, but Ben's sister & stepfather are much more cautious about it. Ben tries extremely hard to show that he's doing better and recovering and it's all very awkward.

I really feel for Ben in the scene where they're at the Christmas pageant because he starts
crying during the same part of O Holy Night that I do.

The movie isn't shy. Ben & Holly go shopping and Ben sees one of his old dealers at the mall. He's shaken and winds up dragging Holly to an NA meeting. There are drugs involved, though he swears that he took them from someone else so they wouldn't use. Uh... sure. Regardless, it's a hard set of scenes leading up to the Christmas pageant.

Including an excruciating scene where Holly confronts the pediatrician who got Ben hooked on opiates to begin with.
It's even more messed up because it's clear that this guy has dementia or something and no idea what's happening.

After the pageant, though, is when things get really messed up. The family comes home to a ruined house. Someone has robbed them, though it seems like the only thing stolen was the family dog. Ben's dog.

Someone's after Ben, then.

The second act of the movie is basically a cat and mouse game between Ben & Holly and whoever stole the dog, but Ben, being an addict and deeply untrustworthy (according to himself), eventually runs away to handle the matter himself, not wanting his mother to get dragged down with him.

The third act is all about Holly chasing Ben and Ben trying to get his dog back and his debts forgotten. The chase and hunt are hard to watch in both the second and third acts. You learn so much about how desperate Ben has been in his life, how miserable Holly has been trying to protect a son who cannot be protected from his own addiction, and how hideous and nonsensical life is for someone with a severe addiction problem in small-town New York.

It all leads up to one of the most excruciating endings I've ever experienced. There is despair, hope, misery, joy, and over it all reigns the anxiety of not knowing anything for certain. Will he continue to survive? Will he ever really be able to come home? Can he overcome this tragedy?

Everyone in this movie is a fantastic actor. Everyone. I don't like Julia Roberts' acting most of the time, but there are moments where Julia Roberts ceases to exist and only Holly Burns remains. A desperate mother seeking her son. Lucas Hedges is amazingly manipulative yet still somehow innocent through it all. The child actors are brilliant. Courtney B. Vance is perfect as a beset stepfather and second husband trying to keep his family safe, even from themselves. Even the supporting actors outside of the family - the messed up best friend, the horrible teacher, the pediatrician - they're all brilliant.

The fact that there were movies deemed more worthy of Oscars than this makes me actually want to see these movies. Kind of. I don't know if I could take something more tense and anxious than the third act of Ben is Back...

If you like drama or movies about real problems or you're just looking for something new, I can 100% suggest this movie. My god. I don't even like dramas. I loved this movie.

Look at it this way: we bought large sodas and popcorns for this movie. I didn't even finish half of my popcorn because I was so engrossed.

Go watch this movie!

Go Enjoy Something!

FC