Beautiful Boy Analysis..?

I wanted to write this out really nicely, but it takes up way too much time, so I would rather just write out my thoughts and post it. Sorry that it's not good, i suck at writing.

While watching Beautiful Boy, I initially wished we had gotten a better idea of why Nic turned to drugs in the first place. I loved how the movie was told mostly from the father's perspective, showing his pain and confusion as he watched his son struggle with addiction. However, as I thought more about it, I realized that the father-son relationship was not as strong as it was presented. At first, I thought their bond was pretty solid, and I liked how the dad played a softer, more vulnerable role in Nic's life. However, there was something important about their relationship that explained why Nic began to use drugs, which I really appreciate the movie for showing rather than telling us.

Clearly, the audience can understand that Nic's drug abuse was not triggered by a traumatic event, and that he was experiencing a feeling or thought that he couldn't deal with. But what was it? All the times that we see Nic confronted by his father and asked why he is doing this to himself, his responses are incredibly vague. So, we can assume that he doesn't understand why he does it either. After reflecting on it, I noticed a trend. Every time we see Nic using, it’s usually around big moments in his life where he is entering adulthood, like when he is in college or graduates from college. It makes me think that what’s really triggering him is this deep fear of failing, and (maybe) not living up to his dad’s expectations. Whenever he gets back on track, leaves home/moves out, he becomes afraid of life and then backs out. There is a scene in the film where Nic is about to go to rehab. He’s in the car with his dad, and he says, “I don’t want to go." What if I just stay home with you?” His dad tries to convince him to go, and Nic finally says, “I'm doing it for you,” before getting out of the car. At that moment, Nic doesn’t want to get better; he’s not doing it for himself, he’s just trying to make his dad proud. And that’s part of the pressure that builds throughout the film. Take the scene at the beginning of the film where Nic and David are in a rehab facility and David begins to get worried about his son’s future. “You were doing great in school, what about college?" And David’s interaction with his wife when he says, “I don’t appreciate you talking to your friends about this.. What if he gets over this and moves on with his life? He wouldn’t want this over his head.” David wants Nic to succeed and to go to college and live a full life, and while it’s out of love, it also creates a ton of pressure on Nic. The more pressure his dad puts on him, the more he becomes afraid to face reality. When he takes drugs, he can just live and wander the world without a care.

An interesting aspect of the film is also Nic's relationship with his sponsor, who, despite being in a position to help, fails to guide Nic through his relapse. Instead of helping Nic find the root of the problem, the sponsor’s advice is to "make the right choice”. Which is a stupid thing to say to someone with a drug problem, since Nic understands that the right choice (which is viewed by our society and his father) is not to do drugs. But for Nic, the right choice for him in that moment is to take drugs, to feel free from his fears. We see Nic going through rehab many times throughout the film. And from the scene with his sponsor, we can understand that the reason rehab hasn't worked for Nic is that these facilities don't have the right approach. At the end of the day, it is not the drug that is the problem, but how dependent he has become through his inability to deal with his thoughts and feelings. Which leaves Nic trapped in a cycle of relapse and recovery.

(side note) His father stated that he had also tried drugs in the past. However, he never became addicted because his intentions for drugs were healthy. As long as people turn to things to avoid facing reality, they will continue to become addicted to them.