There is a scene where Julia Roberts' car breaks down. It is as if he has come home from prep school, not rehab. When Dolly gets to the shabby house, she finds Ponce barking outside the home. 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. Dolly heads to a store to change the kit since it has expired, but they do not deal with such medications. " Ben Is Back " is the story of one day in the lives of the Burnses, during which this prodigal son will test the love of everyone who cares about him and remind audiences everywhere why. ben is back mall scene "Bennifer" is officially back! And then watching how she can, on a dime, flip from the happy mom to panicked mom and fierce mom Where did you get this? At the restaurant, Ben meets his old buddy Spencer, who now goes by the name of Spider. | profanity glossary |. Gary M. Kramer is a writer and film critic based in Philadelphia. "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.) (But were still going to focus on the sad rich, straight, young white guys.). The demon her son has been battling turns out to be a monster whose tentacles are everywhere and whose appetites are beyond reckoning. Abruptly leaving Dolly behind, Ben goes to Claytons place. Holly follows in her car, finding Ben in a nearby neighborhood. Shes always worried. Reproduction of material from any Salon pages without written permission is strictly prohibited. His mother Holly (Roberts) beams as only Julia Roberts can beam, full megawatt dazzle delighted to see him. how to delete arbitersports account. Bens much younger half-siblings (Mia Fowler and Jakari Fraser) and the family dog, for their part, adore him unreservedly. The rest of Ben Is Back, written and directed by Peter Hedges (father of Lucas), sustains and intensifies that clammy, anxious feeling. A young man tells another young man, "I thought you were dead." 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. Regardless, Hedges plants all kinds of details that are meant to pay off later but fail to deliver any real impact. As she follows Ben through an increasingly harrowing day and night, Holly gets a tour of an underworld that exists in the shadows of her sunny, stable reality. Shes going to get clothes for him. Does Ben relapse? But A&E was worse': This is the desperate state of the NHS, Rishi Sunak wants a drone army of data entering robots: Simon Peggs furious attack on PMs maths plan. The conflict is not his alone. Although Dolly has an outburst following this incident, she does not find the fresh batch she is looking for. [10], In July 2018, LD Entertainment, Roadside Attractions and Lionsgate acquired distribution rights to the film, which they released on December 7, 2018. They end up at the home of Maggies father Bens ex-girlfriend, who died from a presumed drug overdose. A woman hands her son a cup and tells him to provide a urine sample for drug testing. Ben Is Back has been added to your Cart . A young man twitches and complains of being sick as he pleads for money so he can buy drugs. [11] The film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, 2018. A young man talks about his history teacher having an unlimited supply of "oxy" and other opioids. Lucas Hedges plays the titular Ben, a recovering heroin addict, and Julia Roberts is Ben's loving mom. His relationship with Julia Roberts as his mother, Holly, provides the film with its vivid heart. [8] Filming began on December 5, with Courtney B. Vance joining the cast as Ben's stepfather. Ben Is Back is a 2018 American drama film written and directed by Peter Hedges, and starring Julia Roberts, Lucas Hedges and Courtney B. Vance. While we read all emails & try to reply we don't always manage to do so; be assured that we will not share your e-mail address. Dolly seeks to accept Ben, but Ben has ways to mess things up. After pressure from her husband, she insists she will stick to Ben for the next 24 hours. When Neal calls Dolly, Ben is still out of sight. Lucas Hedges, like Timothe Chalamet in Beautiful Boy, the seasons other alliteratively titled tale of a young man fighting a drug habit, deftly captures the nuances of this condition. Peter Hedges, whose previous features as a director are Pieces of April, Dan in Real Life and The Odd Life of Timothy Green, keeps his sentimental tendencies on ice here. Ben Is Back shifts into gear once mom and son leave the house for a trip to the mall. As per sources, a few scenes were even lensed at a property on Johnsontown Road, simply known as The Farm. In this all new movie we find Morticia . In the end, the family home is broken into (not by Ben). Her anger at Ben dragging her (and her family) into his mess comes and goes. - A young man is shown unconscious and his skin and lips are tinged blue; a woman gives him a drug trying to revive him and then does mouth-to-mouth and he starts breathing again. Even after the menacing, hooded figure skulking around near the driveway is recognized as a son and brother (played by Lucas Hedges), the queasy feeling of terror doesnt quite abate. Add to Cart . Surprises? She has made sacrifices, worked hard, raised good kids and as a result has earned a certain amount of deference. But the performances remain uniformly strong and hold the story together, even as it threatens to spin out of control. Ben is jumpy, shaky, perhaps not ready for this yet. The Fabelmans, Babylon, Empire of Light: Why the spate of love letters to cinema? Prices of energy and food are rising rapidly. But what if she cant? Roberts never quite disappears into her role as a sacrificial mom. But she think she is. As the winter darkness descends, mother and son enter an inferno of grieving parents, sexual predators, ruthless dealers and hollowed-out users. Associated Press articles: Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. Ben tries to buy his dog back, but Clayton says Ben must do a drug run for him. How can he live with what hes done? A young man smokes from a vaping device in a few scenes (outside and in a car). A woman takes her son to a cemetery and asks him where he wants to be buried. 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. human shock collars for sale vampire movies 1940s movie themed team names. Her best moments have Holly making some questionable decisions, thoughher heart is in the right place. She was seen attending a cast dinner with both Lopez and Rodriguez in 2019 before the "Hustlers" star hosted the late-night sketch show. Can you please just exit the store? Yes. The range where they both go in the scene, the number of places they go, is emblematic of all the places we go in the film.. Clayton, a local gang leader for whom Ben worked, sent men to break into the Burns residence. Ben is Back. $12.49 FREE Shipping Get free shipping Free shipping within the U.S. when you order $25.00 of eligible items shipped by Amazon. That is both a blessing and a curse. After mall PDA, AJ Raval insists Aljur Abrenica just . This isnt a matter of ego or showboating. 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. The plot follows a mother who tries to help her addict son after he returns home from rehab. 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. And the later scenes reveal that Ben has taken the drug nonetheless. His stepfather, Neal (Courtney B. Vance), wonders how many more chances Ben deserves, noting that a young black man in his circumstances would not have had as many. Let us get to the ending. Ben Is Back Ending, Explained: Is Ben Dead or Alive. 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.But other scenes are directed with the pure . Writer-director Peter Hedges depicts this phenomenon with intimacy and empathy in Ben Is Back, about a teenage opioid addict who leaves rehab for 24 hourssupposedly with the encouragement of his sponsorto visit his family on Christmas Eve. business Retail. As they're returning home to finish Christmas Eve prep, there's an unexpected guest on the doorstep . She agrees lets him stay for 24 hours only if he does not leave her sight. We are a totally independent website with no connections to political, religious or other groups & we neither solicit nor choose advertisers. Ben is Back or is he? Spencer seems drunk and in bad shape but has enough strength to knock Ben over. Ben Is Back Pits a Dazzling Julia Roberts Against the Opioid Scourge Alan Scherstuhl December 18, 2018 9:00AM In Ben Is Back, Julia Roberts (left) stars as Holly Burns, an ordinary. But even more so, it's also a movie about redemption that reflects Jesus' lesson in the Book of Luke through a powerful illustration of forgiveness. Inline image. And Julias switch from happy mother shopping with her son to concerned and panicked mother is Mom, it was a joke. so powerful. Excuse me can I get a key to this door, please? This scene is a microcosm for the film that in Holly, at the beginning, you see the hope she has that this is going to be a fun thing. 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. Melissa McCarthy Says 'Bridesmaids' Originally Had a Strip . She ends up at Maggies house, and Maggies mother, Beth, gives Dolly an emergency overdose kit. But shes not paying full attention. But then in the second half of Ben Is Back, it becomes a different kind of movie: a low-key thriller in which Ben and Holly are forced to run around town, revisiting his misdeeds in search of clues to a mystery. Peter Hedges narrates a scene from his film featuring Lucas Hedges and Julia Roberts. #everycopycounts support vendors this winter. The film suggests that drugs do not have to be illegal and sensational, like cocaine and LSD, but they are pretty mundane in a broken, contemporary world. See ratings & reviews at Critics.com. Yesterday I watched "Ben is Back" a recently released feature film about a heroin-addicted young man (Lucas Hedges) and his heroic and tenacious mother (Julia Roberts) who tries her best to keep him "clean.". "[13] At Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 66 out of 100 based on 39 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". And she thinks shes covered all the tracks. It is all calculated emotional button-pushing. Hedges is as excellent as he was in "Manchester By the Sea," but it's fair to say the movie belongs to Roberts. When a young man doesn't remember a young woman, she tells him, "You were my dealer." 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. SPOILERS AHEAD. The film begins when 19-year-old Ben Burns reappears in his house in Yonkers, New York, just in time for Christmas. I dont think Ben is Back hangs together perfectly but there were times I forgot to breathe for a second or three. Its here that the film starts leaking suspense. A family returns home form a performance and finds their house has been broken into; their Christmas tree is tipped over, the glass of a door is broken and their dog is missing. Release date: Dec 07, 2018. Sequels! 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. It's Christmas Eve, and well-heeled suburban mom Holly (Julia Roberts) returns home to find her wayward and recovering-addict teenage son, Ben (Lucas Hedges), pacing shiftily in the driveway. The film eventually goes off in thriller-like direction with Ben and Holly searching for the family dog, which has been stolen by one of Bens former associates to whom he owes a debt. . How much should my pay rise to beat inflation? He uses the same outline here: theres a screw-up title character (Lucas Hedges, the directors son) with a suffering/domineering mother named Holly (Julia Roberts), an insufferably perfect sister named Ivy (Katherine Newton) as well as a benign-ish father (Courtney B. Vance) all hoping Ben doesnt spoil everything as he always does. Shes taken him Christmas shopping so hell have appropriate clothes to wear at church that night. But other scenes are directed with the pure suspense of a thriller. A young man says that he got a young woman hooked and we understand that she is dead. However, any commercial reproduction of anything appearing within this site is both illegal and in really bad taste and we will take action |more|. While holiday shopping at the mall, Holly runs into Ben's former doctor, now an old man with dementia. Can they trust him? Ben Is Back takes place in snowy, idyllic, small-town New York, and Ben comes from a family of comfort and means. He is entirely credible as an almost-grown man whose credibility has virtually collapsed, who is in a constant state of war with himself. After a few minutes, Ben takes a breath. [12], According to the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 81% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 221 reviews, with an average rating of 6.9/10. With the help of Liam and Lacey, Ben goes to the attic room and finds his old stash. Back to the Future (1985) Universal Pictures. (The films town is never identified, so it represents any/everywhereas in: this is a cautionary tale that could happen in your very own neighborhood!) They are the main couple of the film series.They first meet each other at the beginning of Descendants and they later started dating and became a couple. But shes also been burned enough times to know that she must quickly and quietly clean out the pills from her medicine cabinet and gather valuables from her jewelry box. Suburban shopping mall parking lots are magical places. But once again, Roberts gives a gripping performance as a mother coming to new realizations about the child she thought she finally understood. Clayton is not convinced by what Ben has to offer, and Ben has to do another job for Clayton if he wants to take Ponce back. But from Spencer, Ben gets a lead about the home invasion incident. She wants to support and protect her beloved oldest child without endangering or alienating the rest of the family, and in spite of everything that has happened she still has unwavering faith in her own maternal powers. A woman hands her son a cup and tells him to provide a urine sample for drug testing; she looks away and tells him that she wont look at his privates (we see him from the back with nothing seen or heard). Ben Is Back also traverses the same territory as the recent, better drama, Beautiful Boy, about a young mans addiction and the impact it had on his father and family. 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. 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. The film highlights many shades of Julia Roberts and Lucas Hedges' central roles, Holly and Ben. A woman tells another woman, "You can't help them. Theres brilliant stuff here about recovery and how addiction destroys the fabric of a family. By what name was Ben Is Back (2018) officially released in India in Hindi? Her tics and her smile are overly familiar, but her performance does work when she is being empathetic. (She and Hedges also played siblings last year in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.) Ivy has seen too much, so she sees through everyones lieseven the well-intentioned ones from her mom. The storyline revolves around Ben Burns, an athlete dealing with opioid addiction. Vance, as the skeptical stepdad, takes a thinly-written role and makes it meatier. The film opens as he returns from his stint at rehab on Christmas Eve. 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. The film begins like a home invasion thriller as a young guy attempts to break into a house. The suspense is generated by a deceptively simple question, one that haunts most stories of addiction: Will Ben use again? And I never fully buy into its truth some of the big emotional outbursts fall flat. Writer/director Peter Hedges asks viewers and its main characters to spend an uncomfortable 24-hours together on Christmas Eve. The best thing that can be said about this film is that Hedges isnt going for warm and fuzzy feelings. Gary M . Whereas it appears that a few shots were recorded outside the strip mall as well as the Haas Pharmacy at 62 Orange Turnpike. And since Clayton is the last person Ben imagined as the culprit behind the break-in, he does not want Dolly to go there. Christian Grey is a man with physical boundaries. Let us now take you to the specific locations where the movie was lensed. Will he be dead on the floor with a needle sticking out of his arm? Now, you may wonder where the film was shot. they are pretty mundane in a broken, contemporary world. They search for Ponce together to no avail. 10. But Julia Roberts puts everyone in the shade, even Hedges one of my favourite young actors (he played Casey Afflecks nephew in Manchester By the Sea). A young man says, "You're still scared of me," to his family. Lost and dejected, Dolly calls Neal, illustrates the situation, and goes to the police station to file a diary. Ben sees his childhood friend, Spencer, also a drug addict. Issuu is a digital . Theyve just come from a 12-step meeting. She wants to have a good feeling about her sons return. Just go to our search page or use the search bar, with or without a keyword, from the top navigation menu. by Marc on January 17, 2019 in Connect. Bens sister Ivy (Kathryn Newton) is all eye-rolling cynicism at this latest outbreak of sobriety. Inicio La Provincia ben is back mall scene ben is back mall scene. 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. Hollywood films about addiction tend to be tasteful, well-meaning awardsy dramas. In the nocturnal adventure, Ben visits the places of guilt to find a resolution for the present discontent. Over a turbulent 24 hours, new truths are revealed, and a mother's undying love for her son is tested as she does everything in her power to keep him safe. If you think what we do is worthwhile, please donate or become a member, Why is Ben Is Back rated R? How does any addict? Theres this dangerous something coursing through him. In a fast food joint she bumps into the familys old doctor, now retired, who first prescribed Ben painkilling pills aged 14 after a minor snowboarding accident. 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. This is especially true regarding a subplot about a young woman who died as a result of Ben getting her hooked on drugs. Dolly seeks to accept Ben, but Ben has ways to mess things up. Additional filming went underway at the Super Seven convenience store, located at 75 Orange Turnpike in Sloatsburg. A man slams a passenger car window and pounds on the hood of the car as a woman and her son speed away. Was Ben Is Back, about an addicts unexpected return home, meant to be a holiday hate-watch? 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. Stuart Dryburgh of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty fame came on board as the director of photography. (Particularly so soon after another film about a privileged young addict Beautiful Boy.) The Bottom Line Nerve-racking but not bleak or without humor. 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? Ivy, however, is rightly suspicious of this prodigal son, and says Holly is trying too hard. Julia Roberts and Lucas Hedges are pictured filming a Scene for 'Ben is Back' at a shopping mall in White Plains, New York 03.01.2018 Lucas Hedges has to work a tricky balancing act of appearing. The film highlights many shades of Julia Roberts and Lucas Hedges central roles, Holly and Ben. Ben owes Clayton a great deal of money since he takes a wad of cash and Dollys expensive necklace to make it square. And then he reminds her, no, she didnt check everything. It is hard to believe anything Ben says when he arrives or opens his mouth. A woman pounds on a fitting room door and yells obscenities at her son behind the door before they are asked to leave the store. And then theres Julia Roberts. Scott Dec. 5, 2018 When the title character shows up early in "Ben Is Back" just before Christmas, at his. The film received generally favorable reviews from critics, who praised the performances of Hedges and Roberts, but grossed just $12 million against its $13 million budget. Perhaps most notably, the new episodes show Wendy becoming increasingly reckless in her actionsspeaking publicly and repeatedly about her "missing" brother Ben ( Tom Pelphrey ), even though she. Alan Scherstuhl December 17, 2018 6:00AM In Ben Is Back, Julia Roberts (left) stars as Holly Burns, an ordinary woman struggling with the return of her teenage son (played by Lucas Hedges). After the emergency kit does not produce results, Dolly even traverses taboo championing reasons boundaries, giving Ben CPR. Dec 21, 2018. Ben's mother, Holly (Julia Roberts), is relieved and welcoming but wary of her son staying clean. The elder Hedges needs to make amends. Read our parents guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.. While Beths suspicion conditions the audience, Dolly gives saving Ben one last shot. It is a big BUT uttered from Holly's tough love side. So begins a long night of the soul as mother and son drive around Bens old stomping grounds. You could cast a unicorn in a movie with this woman and the only thing anyone would say is, Nice horse, but did you see JULIA ROBERTS? She turns the dimmer down here a little to give a performance thats a full emotional workout. Shes thrilled and terrified, and the brilliantly expressive Roberts makes both of those sensations visible simultaneously. Film directors walk viewers through one scene of their movies, showing the magic, motives and the mistakes from behind the camera. hockeydabeast413 live feed man in love taiwan movie why did alice leave tattoo fixers cosmetology school lawrence, ks rtgs vs pesalink. Read her answers to our Movie Love Questionnaire here. The unit lensed scenes in St Johns Episcopal Church in Larchmont at 4 West Fountain Square. Can you please just exit the store? Yes. The range where they both go in the scene, the number of places they go, is emblematic of all the places we go in the film..