Holly follows in her car, finding Ben in a nearby neighborhood. His disease is acting through him, as if he were possessed by a demon that is also his double. 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. Ben plays noisily with his half-siblings but too noisily an edge of anxious . - 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 packet of powder), and a young man says that he got a young woman hooked. Returning from Ivy, Liam, and Laceys performance at the Christmas choir, they find that the room has been broken in. Yesterday I watched "Ben is Back" a recently released feature film about a heroin-addicted young man (Lucas Hedges) and his heroic and tenacious mother (Julia Roberts) who tries her best to keep him "clean.". At Family Day, Queen Leah, Audrey's grandmother, believes Mal is Maleficent and causes a scene. by Marc on January 17, 2019 in Connect. Ben is around 20 years old (at which age I too was also . And the later scenes reveal that Ben has taken the drug nonetheless. And she thinks shes covered all the tracks. Ben has been in rehab for quite a few months, struggling with an Oxycotin addiction. But Anastasia can be easily confused, I guess, so asks for a clear roadmap. Dolly seeks to accept Ben, but Ben has ways to mess things up. Not added . Will he be dead on the floor with a needle sticking out of his arm? 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. Subscribe to the channel and click the bell icon to stay up to date.US Release Date: December 7, 2018Starring: Julia Roberts, Lucas HedgesDirected By: Peter Hedges Synopsis: Follows the charming yet troubled Ben Burns (Hedges), who returns home to his unsuspecting family one fateful Christmas Eve. THE ASSIGNED NUMBERS And you will be helping support our website & our efforts. Hedges is as excellent as he was in "Manchester By the Sea," but it's fair to say the movie belongs to Roberts. But she think she is. But what if she cant? However, later, Dolly reaches Ivy to find Bens location. But even a scene set the safe space of a 12-step meeting, where Ben cracks jokes and tries to earn sympathy,comes off as disingenuous. Read More: Ben Is Back Ending, Explained: Is Ben Dead or Alive? Lost and dejected, Dolly calls Neal, illustrates the situation, and goes to the police station to file a diary. Bens sister Ivy (Kathryn Newton) is all eye-rolling cynicism at this latest outbreak of sobriety. (Particularly so soon after another film about a privileged young addict Beautiful Boy.) Follow him on Twitter. Ben is Backs troubled white guy plot may be wearing thin but the addiction drama has moments of brilliance, says Cath Clarke. While we read all emails & try to reply we don't always manage to do so; be assured that we will not share your e-mail address. The suspense is generated by a deceptively simple question, one that haunts most stories of addiction: Will Ben use again? In contrast, an episode where Holly vomits after piecing together what Ben did to get his history teachers Oxycontin is a bit much. Putin's forces in November pulled out of key positions, retreating from Kherson as Ukrainian troops led a counteroffensive targeting . Theres this dangerous something coursing through him. New & Used (35) from $3.78 + $3.99 shipping. Ben and Holly talk and talk trying to gain understanding of the situation. You could cast a unicorn in a movie with this woman and the only thing anyone would say is, Nice horse, but did you see JULIA ROBERTS? She turns the dimmer down here a little to give a performance thats a full emotional workout. Hedges direction is efficient and understated in these scenes. (3,433) 6.7 1 h 43 min 2018 X-Ray HDR UHD R. Julia Roberts delivers a riveting performance as a mother swept into a race against time after her troubled 19-year-old son (Lucas Hedges) returns home for Christmasand suddenly disappears. With the help of Liam and Lacey, Ben goes to the attic room and finds his old stash. The film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, 2018, and was theatrically released on December 7, 2018, by LD Entertainment, Roadside Attractions, and Lionsgate. 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. On a trip to . You can learn to parallel park there, you can make out with your high school boyfriend . 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. In the nocturnal adventure, Ben visits the places of guilt to find a resolution for the present discontent. 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. Shortly after Neal and Holly argue over Ben's arrival, there's a scene focusing on Ben's interaction with his young siblings. Ben and Mal is a romantic pairing, Ben is the son of Belle and Beast, and Mal is the daughter of Maleficent and Hades.. It opens with Holly (Julia Roberts) coming home from church with three of her four children who have been practicing for the Christmas pageant. 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. The filmmaker previously made the enjoyable and piquant holiday-themed comedy-drama, Pieces of April, about a dysfunctional family at Thanksgiving. Disturbing video footage captured two boys fighting at a New Jersey mall on February 13 Bridgewater police arrived, and while one cop pulled the light-skinned boy away, the other tackled the. Christmas can be emotionally fraught no matter who you are or what family you grew up in, but it can be especially tricky when youre an addict, and even more so when you have a tenuous grasp on your recovery. However, Ben returns to life at the movies end with a jolt. Vance, as the skeptical stepdad, takes a thinly-written role and makes it meatier. Lopez, who turned 52 on Saturday, posted the steamy picture as part of a series of photos in which she donned a printed string bikini, marking her birthday. 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. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. But from Spencer, Ben gets a lead about the home invasion incident. 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 Is Back is a 2018 American drama film written and directed by Peter Hedges, and starring Julia Roberts, Lucas Hedges and Courtney B. Vance. 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.. Oh My God, God, Jesus, Heaven Help You, Holy [scatological term deleted]). Alan Scherstuhl December 17, 2018 6:00AM In Ben Is Back, Julia Roberts (left) stars as Holly Burns, an ordinary woman struggling with the return of her teenage son (played by Lucas Hedges). With the bathroom door opened- despite his protest. Filming took place in the Mamaroneck Beach & Yacht Club, a country club located at 555 South Barry Avenue at the mouth of the Mamaroneck River. 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? Let us now take you to the specific locations where the movie was lensed. But their journey is neither as harrowing nor as emotionally draining as the filmmaker thinks it is. Stepdad Neal (Courtney B Vance), whos paying for the rehab, is stony faced. A young man seems nervous when he sees another young man in a shopping mall. Check out the new movie clip for Ben Is Back starring Lucas Hedges! At the same time, a monologue Hedges delivers when Ben shares at a Narcotics Anonymous meeting is a powerful example of this young actors range, from swagger to introspection and, ultimately, regret. #everycopycounts support vendors this winter. 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.. "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 The cast and crew spent a significant amount of time in the Hudson Valley region. We've gone through several editorial changes since we started covering films in 1992 and older reviews are not as complete & accurate as recent ones; we plan to revisit and correct older reviews as resources and time permits. 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. But the performances remain uniformly strong and hold the story together, even as it threatens to spin out of control. Copyright 2023 Salon.com, LLC. Theyve just come from a 12-step meeting. Ben owes Clayton a great deal of money since he takes a wad of cash and Dollys expensive necklace to make it square. new video loaded: Ben Is Back | Anatomy of a Scene, Hi. Ben completes the mission and gets Ponce back, but Clayton also gives him some drugs in return. Shes thrilled and terrified, and the brilliantly expressive Roberts makes both of those sensations visible simultaneously. But Ben leaves with Dollys car, which gets Dolly worried. Holly Burns returns from church on Christmas Eve to find her son Ben in the driveway; he has been in rehab for prescription drug addiction for some months, and says his sponsor said a trip home would be good for him. Ben's mom, Holly (Julia Roberts), is relieved and welcoming but wary of her son staying clean. Hi. 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.But other scenes are directed with the pure . 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. - 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. Furthermore, the crew filmed scenes in Larchmont, an affluent village situated along the Mamaroneck River. There is a didactic scene of Holly talking frankly to the doctor who got her son hooked on drugs, as if to excuse parental responsibility. See also A young man smokes from a vaping device in a few scenes (outside and in a car). A drug addicted teenage boy shows up unexpectedly at his family's home on Christmas Eve. The crew filmed some scenes in Sloatsburg, a village in the town of Ramapo in Rockland County. If anyone can solve Bens problems can bring Ben back to the sweet, smart, decent boy he used to be its surely his mom. 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. Dolly gets nervous, and Neals worries trouble her more since she wants to give Ben a chance. Parents need to know that Ben Is Back is a drama that centers on the United States' opioid epidemic. A family returns home form a performance and finds their house has been broken into; their Christmas tree is tipped over, the glass of a door is broken and their dog is missing. If you think what we do is worthwhile, please donate or become a member, Why is Ben Is Back rated R? 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