Ben Is Back has been added to your Cart . Shes taken him Christmas shopping so hell have appropriate clothes to wear at church that night. Rated R . Let us now take you to the specific locations where the movie was lensed. However, any commercial reproduction of anything appearing within this site is both illegal and in really bad taste and we will take action |more|. Read her answers to our Movie Love Questionnaire here. Her expression is not one of disgust, or shame, or fear; she looks like shes shopping for an outfit and doesnt like what she sees. 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. Theyve just come from a 12-step meeting. Read our parents guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.. But this is one of those rare Hollywood movies that keeps you guessing, where you dont see the ending coming 20 minutes in. Like her, I found myself constantly scanning Bens face: is he using again? Film directors walk viewers through one scene of their movies, showing the magic, motives and the mistakes from behind the camera. Shortly after Neal and Holly argue over Ben's arrival, there's a scene focusing on Ben's interaction with his young siblings. He leaves Ponce in the car with a note asking whoever finds it to call his mom. hockeydabeast413 live feed man in love taiwan movie why did alice leave tattoo fixers cosmetology school lawrence, ks rtgs vs pesalink. Its not as interesting narratively or as relatable emotionally. All at their highest rate in 40 years. Ben is jumpy, shaky, perhaps not ready for this yet. And she thinks shes covered all the tracks. And Ben has a secret. On the contrary, what is so moving and effective about Robertss work here is her shrewd subversion of her long-established persona. Stepdad Neal (Courtney B Vance), whos paying for the rehab, is stony faced. They search for Ponce together to no avail. Theres this dangerous something coursing through him. Our ratings and reviews are based on the theatrically-released versions of films; on video there are often Unrated, Special, Director's Cut or Extended versions, (usually accurately labelled but sometimes mislabeled) released that contain additional content, which we did not review. Shes thrilled and terrified, and the brilliantly expressive Roberts makes both of those sensations visible simultaneously. But thats what Holly (and Hedges) does. Did you know you can now filter searches by any combination of ratings? Hollywood films about addiction tend to be tasteful, well-meaning awardsy dramas. Over a turbulent 24 hours, new truths are revealed and a mother's undying love . Ben Is Back SUBSTANCE USE - 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 . After pressure from her husband, she insists she will stick to Ben for the next 24 hours. Holly follows in her car, finding Ben in a nearby neighborhood. The crew filmed in North Little Tor Road and along the South Mountain Roads in the suburbs of New City. Julia Roberts films Ben Is Back in sub-zero weather https://t.co/kmKOaHd0oB #Yonkers pic.twitter.com/LPHHL3bZh3, YonkersRU (@YonkersRoundup) January 8, 2018. Although Ben left Ponce in the car outside, Dolly finds Ponce in the place. Ben is in recovery from heroin addiction. Looks like shes gonna have you try on the whole store. I love what both actors are bringing to this scene. A young man talks about being able to defecate regularly now that he is not using drugs. And hes with his mother Holly, played by Julia Roberts. 19-year-old Ben Burns unexpectedly returns home to his family's suburban home on Christmas Eve morning. Whereas it appears that a few shots were recorded outside the strip mall as well as the Haas Pharmacy at 62 Orange Turnpike. Ben is back! She knows that Ben is in another town, but Dolly lies that they split up to cover more ground. 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. 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. Filming also went underway in Garnerville, which was formerly known as Calicotown. When Dolly gets to the shabby house, she finds Ponce barking outside the home. [8] Filming began on December 5, with Courtney B. Vance joining the cast as Ben's stepfather. In Ben Is Back, Julia Roberts (left) . What's coming to your cinema in 2023, For your consideration the potential 2023 Oscar winners, We spent a day streaming bad Christmas movies and this is what it did to our brain, Here's when people will get the next cost of living payment in 2023, 'My elderly mother was in an ambulance for 18 hours. 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. 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. It opens with Holly (Julia Roberts) coming home from church with three of her four children who have been practicing for the Christmas pageant. (But were still going to focus on the sad rich, straight, young white guys.). The film begins when 19-year-old Ben Burns reappears in his house in Yonkers, New York, just in time for Christmas. [Peter and Lucas Hedges never meant to make a movie together.]. Clayton, a local gang leader for whom Ben worked, sent men to break into the Burns residence. 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. Its like shes seeing him completely for the first time, and its shattering all over again. He slips meaningful little asides into out-of-the-way places. Suburban shopping mall parking lots are magical places. Driving out to an abandoned barn, he parks on the side of the road. People and institutions doctors, police officers and pharmacists, as well as her kids are supposed to listen, and to accede to her wishes. Christy Lemire is a longtime film critic who has written for RogerEbert.com since 2013. The unit lensed scenes in St Johns Episcopal Church in Larchmont at 4 West Fountain Square. Ben plays noisily with his half-siblings but too noisily an edge of anxious . After pressure from her husband, she insists she will stick to Ben for the next 24 hours. (Mark Schafer/Courtesy of LD Ent./Roadside Attraction), ------------------------------------------. You can feel every conflicting emotion shes experiencing as she pulls up to the familys house with her other kids in tow and is stunned at the sight of her eldest, a hoodied 19-year-old standing awkwardly in the driveway. 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. Bens intense dynamic with his mother, Holly Burns, and the subsequent effect of his addiction on the family form the core of the drama. While the director meant to keep the finale subtle, we conclude that Ben is alive. Was Ben Is Back, about an addicts unexpected return home, meant to be a holiday hate-watch? But the performances remain uniformly strong and hold the story together, even as it threatens to spin out of control. Holly follows Ponce to the barn where she finds Ben unconscious, having taken the drugs from Clayton. Ben completes the mission and gets Ponce back, but Clayton also gives him some drugs in return. And I never fully buy into its truth some of the big emotional outbursts fall flat. 10. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. Some filming also took place in New City, a hamlet in the Clarkstown municipality. "Ben Is Back" takes place in snowy, idyllic, small-town New York, and Ben comes from a family of comfort and means. Photograph: Doane Gregory/AP These colors don't run. Spencer seems drunk and in bad shape but has enough strength to knock Ben over. 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. The maternal side of Holly tells Ivy and Ben that he may stay for Christmas before going back to rehab, but-. With the help of Liam and Lacey, Ben goes to the attic room and finds his old stash. Gary M. Kramer is a writer and film critic based in Philadelphia. Im Peter Hedges, writer and director of Ben Is Back. Ben Burns, played by Lucas Hedges, comes home unexpectedly on Christmas Eve Day. Ben Is Back is a film about addiction-what it's like to be a recovering addict, and what it's like to love one. Let us know what you think in the comments below. Buy Tickets to Ben Is Back: https://www.fandango.com/ben-is-back-213738/movie-overview?cmp=CSYT_YouTube_DescWant to be notified of all the latest clips and behind the scenes footage? Your local vendor is at the sharp end of the cost-of-living crisis this Winter. It was a crucial junction in the filming schedule. Ben is Back or is he? Filming reportedly kicked off in late 2017 and continued through early 2018. His disease is acting through him, as if he were possessed by a demon that is also his double. The plot follows a mother who tries to help her addict son after he returns home from rehab. The film begins like a home invasion thriller as a young guy attempts to break into a house. While Beths suspicion conditions the audience, Dolly gives saving Ben one last shot. Ive been with you the whole time. Excuse me! The girl at the meeting. And Ben going from cocky and confident to reduced and regressing in age and fearful and apologetic You think Im an idiot. All right. Ben Is Back Review: A Mother and Son Face the Horrors of Addiction, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/05/movies/ben-is-back-review.html. Vance, as the skeptical stepdad, takes a thinly-written role and makes it meatier. 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. He progresses to leave Ponce in the car, heading to a drug den to die from the guilt. Although Dolly has an outburst following this incident, she does not find the fresh batch she is looking for. 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. Melissa McCarthy Says 'Bridesmaids' Originally Had a Strip . But other scenes are directed with the pure suspense of a thriller. 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