Beautiful Boy

Theatrical Release Date: 2011 06 03 (USA - Limited)

UPC: 013132284897

Studio: Starz/Anchor Bay

MPAA Rating: R   Contains:[Brief Nudity, Profanity, Sexual Situations, Drug Content]

Summary: A couple struggling with the aftermath of a horrific crime must deal with their own troubles as well as the grief of others in this independent drama. Bill (Michael Sheen) and Kate (Maria Bello) are a married couple who are tightly wound and devoted to their work -- Bill is a businessman, Kate proofreads books. Bill and Kate's marriage has taken a turn for the worse, and they're on the verge of breaking up when they receive shocking news -- their 18-year-old son, Sam (Kyle Gallner), a college freshman, went on a shooting spree that claimed the lives of several people before he turned his gun on himself. As the news media descends on the couple, Bill and Kate are unable to understand why Sam would do such a thing, and as they struggle to find answers, they turn to family -- Kate's brother, Eric (Alan Tudyk), and his wife, Trish (Moon Bloodgood) -- without being able to resolve the issues that were driving them apart before tragedy struck. Beautiful Boy was the first feature film from director Shawn Ku; it was an official selection at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Category: Drama

Awards: Film Presented – San Sebastián International Film Festival Film Presented – Toronto International Film Festival

Features: Deleted scenes
Audio commentary with writer/director Shawn Ku, editor Chad Galster and cinematographer Michael Fimognari

Beautiful Boy

Format: DVD

Release Date: 10/11/2011

Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Alternate Wide Screen

Audio: DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1, DD1 Dolby Digital Mono

Runtime: 101 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English,Spanish

Subtitles: Spanish

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Disc #1 -- Beautiful Boy
1. Main Title / Snowflakes [10:04]
2. Devastating News [6:12]
3. Sorrow & Remorse [11:50]
4. Unheard Message [11:19]
5. Familial Discord [9:11]
6. Reconnection [11:32]
7. "There Is No Defense for What He Did" [9:51]
8. Looking for Answers [4:47]
9. Trust Violated [6:25]
10. "What Could You Have Said Anyway?" [9:52]
11. N New Beginning [4:48]
12. End Credits [4:36]

Perry Seibert

We all grapple with both grief and guilt at some point in our lives, but few movies attempt to tackle the complex dynamic between those two emotional states as directly as Shawn Ku's Beautiful Boy. Married couple Bill (Michael Sheen) and Kate (Maria Bello) find they have less and less to say to each other after their only child, Sammy (Kyle Gallner), leaves for his freshman year at college. Kate attempts to organize a family vacation to get things on the right path, but one afternoon she and Bill learn that there's been a mass shooting at Sammy's school. As the news reports slowly release more and more information, Kate grows increasingly concerned that Sammy hasn't answered his phone all day. When police officers appear at the family's door, Kate learns that her worst fear -- as well as a fear so awful she'd never even considered it -- has come true: Sammy has died, and he was the shooter responsible for nearly two dozen deaths. Sheen and Bello are quite good at handling this emotionally difficult material. They vacillate between wailing in agony and trying to keep composure with an honesty that will be recognizable to anyone who has gone through the grieving process. On top of that, the marital spats that flair up between them have the flavor of a couple who had regrets well before they were ever forced to contend with unspeakable tragedy. Little actions, like the authority with which Kate cleans a dirty sink and the forceful forehand with which Bill repetitively smacks a tennis ball, offer telling glimpses into how these two people are close to exploding with emotions that they've kept hidden from each other for far too long. That steady buildup eventually gets released in the film's final act, and when these two finally let out their resentments, frustrations, and anger it's a blistering confrontation. A discussion like this either ends or strengthens a marriage, and the drama in Beautiful Boy is much more about the toll a crumbling marriage takes on a husband and wife than it is about the psychological makeup of a spree killer. Choosing the marriage as the focal point of the story turns out to be the film's best and worst aspect because as a portrait of two people headed for an inevitable, heartbreaking implosion where hurtful truths are finally said aloud, the movie has an unerring sensitivity. However, by using a mass killing as the impetus to get these two people to finally have the smoke-clearing fight they so desperately need, the movie bites off more than it can chew. The mammoth weight of Bill and Kate's misery leads the film down a road so dark that, even though the story resolves itself, we're left with little assurance of what will actually happen between these two people. The final scene occurs about a month after the shootings, and the movie's biggest flaw is that it doesn't extend the timeline of the narrative out a little farther -- everything is still so raw between the two of them that it's hard to shake the feeling we're being shortchanged on the story. Ambiguity is normally a welcome aspect to drama, but in this case we've been through so much torment that we need to see how Bill and Kate have picked up the pieces of their lives -- either alone or together -- a few years removed from this tragic event. There's much to respect about Beautiful Boy's admirably restrained yet still direct approach. It doesn't wallow in suffering, and it certainly doesn't make its lead characters out to be noble in their tragedy, but if the screenplay had taken a longer view of grief and guilt rather than minutely examining it, Beautiful Boy would have been a major statement. And while there's certainly no requirement that every serious drama must strive to be a grand summation about life, this particular story is rooted in enough real-life pain that Ku and company should have given it a try. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Richard Gabai  Executive Producer 
Mark Moran  Executive Producer 
Trevor Morris  Composer (Music Score) 
Shawn Ku  Director 
Shawn Ku  Screenwriter 
Lee Clay  Producer 
Eric Gozlan  Producer 
Michael Armbruster  Screenwriter 
Richard Iott  Executive Producer 
Maria Bello  Actor 
Michael Sheen  Actor 
Alan Tudyk  Actor 
Moon Bloodgood  Actor 
Austin Nichols  Actor 
Kyle Gallner  Actor 
Deidrie Henry  Actor 
Bruce French  Actor 
Logan South  Actor 
Nigel Gibbs  Actor 
Brooke Lyons  Actor 
Michael Call  Actor 
Cody Wai-Ho Lee  Actor 
Jessie Usher  Actor 
Davidson Park  Actor 
Caleb Pearson  Actor 
Joshua Shannon  Actor 
Darren O'Hare  Actor 
Myra Turley  Actor 
Bella King  Actor 
Meat Loaf  Actor 
Drake Kemper  Actor 
Mary Jane Gibson  Actor 
Kylie Anderson  Actor 
Tor Campbell  Actor 
Judith DiGiacomo  Actor 
Joe Dioletto  Actor 
Stephen Murano  Actor 
Josephine Ullrich  Actor 
Philip Zurfluh  Actor 
Gregory H. Alpert  Actor 
David Lipper  Actor 
Gregory H. Alpert  Actor 
Kelli Kirkland Powers  Actor 
David Lipper  Actor 

Country: Canada,USA