Review: Ben is Back
It's difficult to argue with the wrenching final moments of Ben is Back, even if they're a prime example of a film pulling at the easiest of heartstrings. Ben is Back, much like the recent Beautiful Boy, is a fairly nuanced and moving look at how addiction takes its toll on an addict's loved ones.
It's Christmas Eve in snowy Westchester and Holly Burns (Julia Roberts) is driving home with her kids when she sees a young man in her driveway. The young man turns out to be her nineteen-year-old son, Ben (Lucas Hedges), and she is elated to see him as are her younger children, which are the products of her second, current marriage to Neal (Courtney B. Vance). Her daughter Ivy (Kathryn Newton), however, is more hesitant and guarded at the sight of her brother's presence, and with good reason. Ben has spent the past 77 days in rehab, and he was not expected home anytime soon.
Even Holly, happy and optimistic as she is, is not without caution. As soon as she gets a moment, she goes to hide the prescription drugs and valuables. Neal, upon arriving home, is not too pleased with Ben, reminding him that it's in his best interest to stay in rehab; there are too many triggers at home. Ultimately, Holly brokers a compromise: Ben can stay at home for 24 hours but only if passes a drug test and never leaves her sight for the entire time he's there. Naturally, there are bound to be numerous complications during those 24 hours, whether it be Holly seeing the doctor that prescribed the painkillers that first led to Ben's addiction, or Ben running into people from his past like a fellow junkie who thought he was already dead or a girl he would sell drugs to that offers to get high with him.
Observing Holly and Ben navigate this minefield is an engrossing watch, especially since both Roberts and Hedges deliver superb performances as a mother struggling to contain her increasing panic and a son trying his best to prove that he's changed. Director Peter Hedges, the actor's father, also displays a commendable restraint as he tracks the mother and son as they go about the day, preferring to be observational and letting the actors shape the scenes rather than imposing unnecessary tricks that could distract. However, Hedges decides to dilute their dynamic in favour of a plot contrivance that swerves the film into a bit of a low-key thriller. Whilst it continues the overall narrative of Holly discovering more about the realities of her son's life of addiction, it introduces unneeded complications. It's as if Hedges didn't trust the power of his simple but impactful story and the actors breathing life into the text.
Ben is Back
Directed by: Peter Hedges
Written by: Peter Hedges
Starring: Julia Roberts, Lucas Hedges, Courtney B. Vance, Kathryn Newton, Rachel Bay Jones, David Zaldivar, Alexandra Park, Tim Guinee, Michael Esper
