The movie “Ben is Back” is about drug addiction. It is excellent. The acting by both Julia Roberts as a mother of a drug addict son who she loves unconditionally and Lucas Hedges as the 19-year-old son is also excellent. The film shows the dreadful destructive effects of drug addiction. Parents should acquire it and show it to their children. Schools should show it to students. It is advertised as “Riveting and Powerful….It held me on the edge of my seat.” This is true!
The boy is in treatment but returns home surprisingly for Christmas. This causes problems. Half of the family is convinced that he is not cured, including his mother’s husband, a very kind even loving man. His mother goes against her husband to support her son. During the 24 hours she and her son are together, there are many revelations of his current condition, the terrible things he did before being sent for treatment, and more. They include him robbing to get cash for drugs and he being responsible for the death of a young girl, a friend of the family. We also see how our society does not sufficiently address the problem. We see that a teacher at school was a dealer.
I repeat: This is a must see movie!!