Ben Is Back
Short description
On Christmas Eve, nineteen-year-old Ben Burns unexpectedly returns to his suburban family home. While his mother, Holly, welcomes him with open arms, she remains worried about his struggle with addiction and whether he has truly changed. Over the following twenty-four hours, the family faces emotional tension and hidden truths. Holly must navigate these challenges and do everything possible to protect her son and prevent the family from collapsing.
Written and directed by Peter Hedges, this drama follows his previous works, Dan in Real Life (2007) and The Odd Life of Timothy Green (2012). The film stars Julia Roberts as Holly Burns and Lucas Hedges as Ben Burns, with a supporting cast that includes Courtney B. Vance, Kathryn Newton, Rachel Bay Jones, and David Zaldivar.
Produced by Lionsgate, Sierra/Affinity, 30WEST, and Black Bear Pictures, the movie had a budget of 13 million USD and earned the same amount at the worldwide box office. Audience reception is similar across platforms, with a 6.7 rating on IMDb from 23,641 votes and a 6.6 rating on TMDB from 975 votes. These figures are closely aligned with the rating from film critics, which stands at 6.9 based on 220 reviews.
What's left behind the scenes
- Winter presented the film crew with unpleasant surprises. According to producer Teddy Schwarzman, all the roads in New York and Yonkers (a nearby town where they were also planning to shoot one of the scenes) were blocked with snow, effectively paralyzing traffic. Julia Roberts lived in New York for 18 years. She claims that she has never seen a winter like the one during the filming of this movie on the East Coast.
- Before filming began, Lucas Hedges and Kathryn Newton spent Thanksgiving weekend at Julia Roberts' house, where a total of 22 guests gathered around the actress's festive table.
- After reading Peter Hedges' script, Julia Roberts immediately agreed to play the role of the main character's mother. The actress made no changes to the script, but she had a strong request regarding casting: being delighted with Lucas Hedges' performance in "Manchester by the Sea," she insisted that the director cast his son in the role of Ben.
- Filming took place in several cities across America – Yonkers, New City, Sloatsburg, Larchmont, Garnerville, Haverstraw, and New York.
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