Julia Roberts
Holly Burns
Similar Movies
Drama
19-year-old Ben Burns unexpectedly returns home to his family's suburban home on Christmas Eve morning. Ben's mother, Holly, is relieved and welcoming but wary of her son staying clean. 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.
Top Billed Cast
| Homepage | http://benisbackmovie.com |
|---|---|
| Release Date | 2018-12-05 |
| Runtime | 1h 43m |
| Directors | Peter Hedges, Stuart Dryburgh, Joseph P. Reidy, John Silvestri, Rachel Jaros |
| Producers | Peter Hedges, Nina Jacobson, Teddy Schwarzman, Brad Simpson, Margaret Chernin, Dianne Dreyer, Jane Nerlinger Evans, Dan Friedkin, Micah Green, Michael Heimler, Lindsey King, Mickey Liddell, Joseph P. Reidy, Kirsten Schatz, Pete Shilaimon, Daniel Steinman, Ben Stillman, Bevan Thomas, Gabrielle Mahon |
| Writer | Peter Hedges |
"Ben" (Lucas Hedges) arrives at his mother's home on Christmas eve and she is delighted. "Holly" (Julia Roberts) and her daughter "Ivy" (Kathryn Newton) know that he has a problem, though. He's a drug addict and has only recently managed to go for seven days without using. A Christmas carol service and an happy Christmas beckon for all if only he can stay sober but his erstwhile dealer has other plans and using the boy's dog as bait, entices him into one last delivery that has everyone racing around before something tragic happens. It's all rather bleak, this, with neither Hedges nor Roberts really having much to work with aside from the rather depressingly presented subject matter. Perhaps this will resonate more with those who have experienced some of the traumas addiction can cause, and this story certainly has an authentic (television) look to it, but there are plenty of better put together stories of recovery (or not) out there that reach out to the uninformed and unfamiliar in a more constructive fashion - and this just rather slotted in mid-table. I like Hedges, he has something natural about him - but here they are both rather mediocre in a rather mediocre melodrama that doesn't really develop the characters or the underlying threads of the story anywhere near enough.
— CinemaSerf