Based on the best selling novels, Beautiful Boy by David Sheff, and Tweak by Nic Sheff, Beautiful Boy captures the heartbreaking and inspiring story of Nic Sheff and his experience with drug addiction. Starring Timothée Chalamet (Nicolas Sheff) and Steve Carell (David Sheff), comes a true story of a family coping with their son’s addiction to meth.

Nicolas Sheff seemed to have it all — he was on the path to college, he was an artist, and an athlete, but at eighteen years old, Nic started to experiment with drugs. What began as an innocent smoke with his father, became an addiction to what seemed to be the most destructive drug of all, Crystal Meth.

David Sheff desperately tries to save his son from this life-threatening drug, but Nic continuously finds himself back to addiction, even after he promises to stop.

The movie reveals the gruesome and harsh reality of drug use as it is painful to watch him inject meth inside of him and the scenes are quite graphic. There are moments where Nic appears that he is going to stay sober and live happily with his family, but the film shows that that does not always happen.

Drug addiction is a battle that only the user can fix. David Sheff eventually gives up and tells Nic that he can not help him and that he is on his own. Even though Nic clearly needed his father, David knew that the help can not come from him, it had to come from Nic. Nic Sheff is now eight years sober and is continuing to fight his drug addiction.

It is highly recommended to see, even though it is very frustrating and repetitive, because high schoolers often want to experiment with drugs and think of it as fun and a one time thing. In reality, drugs easily fool one to believe they are harmless until it causes you to end up in a hospital bed. There is hope for everyone to become sober, but it is useless if the drug user is not willing to stop.

The books that this movie was based off of share the memoirs of the characters and their individual experiences. If you or anyone you know is struggling with drug use and addiction, visit drugabuse.com or call any drug abuse hotline.