Ben Is Back

"One family. One day."

2018 1h 43m EN

👍

6.6

SOLID

★6.6TMDB · 977

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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.

“One family. One day.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Julia Roberts
Holly Burns
Lucas Hedges
Ben Burns
Courtney B. Vance
Mr. Beeby
Kathryn Newton
Ivy Burns
Rachel Bay Jones
Beth Conyers
David Zaldivar
Spencer 'Spider' Webbs
Alexandra Park
Cara K.
Michael Esper
Clayton

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Peter Hedges
Writers: Peter Hedges
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 97% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 8 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Peter Hedges, shot by Stuart Dryburgh. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Dickon Hinchliffe. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Ian Blume shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Julia Roberts and Lucas Hedges and Courtney B. Vance carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "One family. One day.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt7545524 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Peter Hedges directs. Stuart Dryburgh behind the camera. Dickon Hinchliffe scores. Ian Blume cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 97% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
2Released 8 years ago.
3Directed by Peter Hedges, shot by Stuart Dryburgh. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Dickon Hinchliffe. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Ian Blume shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Julia Roberts and Lucas Hedges and Courtney B. Vance carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "One family. One day.".
8IMDB entry: tt7545524 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 24 themes, including "drug dealer", "small town", "drug addiction", "criticism and blame".

The technical file

Cinematography: Stuart Dryburgh
Original score: Dickon Hinchliffe
Editing: Ian Blume
Production design: Ford Wheeler
Costume design: Melissa Toth
Makeup / hair: Stacey Panepinto
VFX supervisor: Mark Russell
Sound: Damian Volpe
Stunt coordinator: Rick Sordelet
Runtime: 103 min · 1h 43m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $13,000,000
Box office: $12,616,995
Return: 97% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Ben Is Back (2018)

Also by

Peter Hedges

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2023-07-22
★ 6/10
"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.

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