2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. Famed civil rights attorney Ben Crump has been retained by the family of Z'Kye Husain, a Black eight-grader who was forcefully detained by Bridgewater Township police officers after a physical. and Ben's already shaky confidence takes a major hit. 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 '). The film is actually most interesting to watch Hollys moral compass shift in any direction to help her son especially when she justifies his bad behavior to help him process his past actions. 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. 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). 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. I thought you were dead, one guy at the mall says off-handedly. In addition, the team toured Mamaroneck, lensing a few enticing sequences on location. I dont think Ben is Back hangs together perfectly but there were times I forgot to breathe for a second or three. Filming also went underway in Garnerville, which was formerly known as Calicotown. Her anger at Ben dragging her (and her family) into his mess comes and goes. The plot follows a mother who tries to help her addict son after he returns home from rehab. Stars: Dan Russell, Teresa Gallagher, Kerry Shale, Kyla Rae Kowalewski. 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 next scene they're at a gas station with no explanation as to how they got the broken down vehicle there. Im Peter Hedges, writer and director of Ben Is Back. Ben Burns, played by Lucas Hedges, comes home unexpectedly on Christmas Eve Day. Theyve just come from a 12-step meeting. "Bennifer" is officially back! Release date: Dec 07, 2018. But Anastasia can be easily confused, I guess, so asks for a clear roadmap. The film highlights many shades of Julia Roberts and Lucas Hedges' central roles, Holly and Ben. 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. Check out the new movie clip for Ben Is Back starring Lucas Hedges! | profanity glossary |. Ben Burns: I love five people and Ponce is two of them. That is both a blessing and a curse. Lucas Hedges has to work a tricky balancing act of appearing. 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. Hedges film is stronger in its first half, when its an understated character drama, than in its second half, when it morphs into a contrived crime thriller. However, any commercial reproduction of anything appearing within this site is both illegal and in really bad taste and we will take action |more|. Some filming also took place in New City, a hamlet in the Clarkstown municipality. He wisely lets his actors act, giving them space to indicate so much in just a meaningful look. Stepdad Neal (Courtney B Vance), whos paying for the rehab, is stony faced. How does any addict? 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. Although Ben left Ponce in the car outside, Dolly finds Ponce in the place. 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. Should they believe him? This is especially true regarding a subplot about a young woman who died as a result of Ben getting her hooked on drugs. Meanwhile, shes trying to keep all the plates spinning for the rest of the family on this day of great expectations. Meanwhile, ever the mom in control, Holly tries to convince herself its all going to be fine, even repeating 12-step slogans like It works if you work it.. [8] Filming began on December 5, with Courtney B. Vance joining the cast as Ben's stepfather. 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. Located at 129 Ramapo Road, the affordable diner attracts local crowds through its sheer cooking prowess and an uncomplicated menu. It is almost laughable to watch Julia Roberts wandering around a site full of addicts on a dark winter night searching for her child. It is a big BUT uttered from Holly's tough love side. Ben takes note that there are no burglars, but at the same time, Ponce is missing. 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. The demon her son has been battling turns out to be a monster whose tentacles are everywhere and whose appetites are beyond reckoning. . Lucas as Ben has this rich inner life at the beginning of the scene. Admittedly, you may feel like youve had your fill of troubled rich white guys with all their second chances and five-star rehab opportunities. The hometown is mundane and suburban, but the camera looks for an exit from nature, reinforcing the fostering image. After pressure from her husband, she insists she will stick to Ben for the next 24 hours. new video loaded: Ben Is Back | Anatomy of a Scene, Hi. Holly follows in her car, finding Ben in a nearby neighborhood. A man slams a passenger car window and pounds on the hood of the car as a woman and her son speed away. Hedges direction is efficient and understated in these scenes. 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. Will he be dead on the floor with a needle sticking out of his arm? "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.) how to delete arbitersports account. However, Neal and Ivy think differently Neal, since he has paid for Bens rehab sessions, and Ivy, since as Bens biological sister, Ivy has seen Ben since childhood. Advertisement: "Ben Is Back" shifts into gear once mom and son leave the house for a trip to the. At other times she wonders if her sons addiction is her fault. Shortly after Neal and Holly argue over Ben's arrival, there's a scene focusing on Ben's interaction with his young siblings. Over a turbulent 24 hours, new truths are revealed, and a mother's undying love for her son is. "Ben Is Back" takes place in snowy, idyllic, small-town New York, and Ben comes from a family of comfort and means. At the mall another kid cheerfully greets him with Dude, I thought you were dead. At church he sees the mother of a girl who overdosed after he got her hooked. Story of 19-year-old Ben Burns (Lucas Hedges), a young man with substance abuse issues who unexpectedly returns to his family's suburban home on Christmas Eve morning. 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. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. And Ben has a secret. However, Mr. Richmond did not abduct Ponce, making Holly and Ben move on to the next house. The disease of addiction can afflict anyone, anywhere, Hedges reminds us, just as Beautiful Boy did earlier this year. Ben is Back or is he? The best thing that can be said about this film is that Hedges isnt going for warm and fuzzy feelings. Copyright 2023 Salon.com, LLC. As the winter darkness descends, mother and son enter an inferno of grieving parents, sexual predators, ruthless dealers and hollowed-out users. Let us get to the ending. Theres this dangerous something coursing through him. All of which leaves Bens mother, Holly (Julia Roberts), in an agonizing position. Move sliders from 0-10 in any combination, check and uncheck MPAA ratings and use keywords to further filter results -- please let us know what you think. She wants to have a good feeling about her sons return. The spacious house is bustling with excitement and preparations for the kids performances at Christmas Eve mass. And then she checks him because she has concerns. 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. While holiday shopping at the mall, Holly runs into Ben's former doctor, now an old man with dementia. 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. His Mother Holly is ecstatic, as are his young step-siblings. In this all new movie we find Morticia . [Read our critics top 10 films of the year.]. 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. [14], Los Angeles Online Film Critics Society Awards, "Making of 'Ben Is Back': How Director Peter Hedges Convinced His Reluctant Son Lucas to Star", "Julia Roberts And Lucas Hedges Team For Black Bear & 30WEST-Backed 'Ben Is Back', "Courtney B. Vance Joins Julia Roberts & Lucas Hedges In 'Ben Is Back', Julia Roberts project, filmed in Rockland, gets positive reviews, "Julia Roberts Drama 'Ben Is Back' Acquired By LD Entertainment, Lionsgate & Roadside", "Toronto: Timothee Chalamet Starrer 'Beautiful Boy,' Dan Fogelman's 'Life Itself' Among Festival Lineup", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ben_Is_Back&oldid=1132753122, Best Performance by an Actor 23 and Under, David Zaldivar as Spencer "Spider" Webbs, a drug addict and one of Ben's old friends, Jack Davidson as Dr. Crane, husband of Alzheimer female, Mia Fowler as Lacey Burns-Beeby, Holly and Neal's 10-year-old daughter and Ben and Ivy's little half-sister, Jakari Fraser as Liam Burns-Beeby, Holly and Neal's 6-year-old son and Ben and Ivy's little half-brother, This page was last edited on 10 January 2023, at 11:23. Ben, an addict 77 days sober arrives back at the family home unexpectedly. By the time Ben and Holly are locked in a pieta-style tableau, with light shining from behind and above them, Ben Is Back has truly hit bottom. What they dont say to each other is as important as what they do say. Consequently, they set up a base at the village center and scanned the neighborhood. Nevertheless, the scene falls flat and feels preachy. In contrast, an episode where Holly vomits after piecing together what Ben did to get his history teachers Oxycontin is a bit much. Hedges son, Lucaswho has put together a string of strong work in just the past couple of years between Manchester By the Sea, Lady Bird, Boy Erased and mid90sstars as the title character, a charismatic young man who radiates a combination of enthusiasm and understandable unease. $12.49 FREE Shipping Get free shipping Free shipping within the U.S. when you order $25.00 of eligible items shipped by Amazon. Still, she hides her jewellery at the top of the wardrobe. Since Mr. Richmonds wife had cancer, he could get all the prescription drugs. 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. It enlivens a moralizing tough-love scene, as when Holly takes her son to a cemetery and asks him to pick out a burial site because he will soon be dead if he doesnt change. 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. If anyone can solve Bens problems can bring Ben back to the sweet, smart, decent boy he used to be its surely his mom. Jennifer Lopez on Saturday appeared to finally confirm her relationship with Ben Affleck, posting a photograph of them kissing on Instagram and Twitter. 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. 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. 12.49 FREE shipping within the U.S. when you order $ 25.00 of items! ( and her family ) into his mess comes and goes addition, the team toured Mamaroneck, lensing few. 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