Traditionally, June is a little early to start talking about Oscar contenders, but once you watch the trailer for the new film Beautiful Boy with Steve Carell and Timothee Chalamet, you're going to expect to see this one come awards season. It's got everything an awards contender needs, a true story, an emotional battle over drug addiction, and two stellar actors who can tear out your heartstrings. Get your tissues ready, you may need them for the trailer alone. Check it out below.
Beautiful Boy tells the story of David and Nic Sheff. The pair wrote the memoir on which the film is based with follows Nic's battle with drug addiction and his father's attempts to help him through it. As the trailer shows, that help wasn't always wanted and wasn't always useful. Timothee Chalamet as Nic appears to be a man who isn't simply rejecting help because he doesn't think he needs it, but perhaps doesn't think he deserves it. Steve Carell as father David seems willing to do whatever is needed but clearly has no idea what that is.
Even from this brief trailer, we can see two powerful performances from two great actors. Both Steve Carell and Timothee Chalamet are Oscar nominees. Carell was nominated in 2015 for his role as John du Pont in Foxcatcher. Chalamet was nominated last year for the film Call me by Your Name. While it's certainly too early to start making accurate predictions about awards, Beautiful Boy certainly wants to be part of that conversation.
While it's easy to write off a movie like Beautiful Boy as "Oscar bait," the fact is that there's a reason that movies like this tend to be the ones being talked about when the awards are given out. Stories like the one that Beautiful Boy looks to be telling are stories that people can easily relate to, they have a greater impact on the viewer because some of the people watching may have actually gone through something similar. It makes it easier for an audience to judge how authentic a performance or a story really is. Also, they can make you cry, and sometimes you just need a good cry.
Beautiful Boy may not be the sort of movie that you put on your calendar to rush out and see on opening night but so far it certainly looks like a movie worth seeing. We know the two leads, along with Maura Tierney and Amy Ryan who co-star, are capable of great performances and even if this one isn't a top contender come awards season, it still looks to be a heartfelt story that will resonate with many. Beautiful Boy hits theaters October 12.
