In much the same way that Boy Erased curiously paralleled The Miseducation of Cameron Post months later, Ben is Back sees arthouse starlet Lucas Hedges lead a belated companion piece to Felix van Groeningen’s Beautiful Boy. Both features concern the strain of parental connection in the face of a crippling drug addiction. Whereas the latter told the tale of father and son, the former offers the perspective of a mother. It’s moving stuff, very well directed and performed with outstanding nuance by a tremendous cast.
Being associated with comedy must be a burden. Wearing this weight of expectation, it’s no wonder that Jessica Hynes looks quite so exhausted throughout her directorial debut. The Fight is not, however, a comedy. Revolving around a plot concerned with the genealogy of bullying, this is actually surprisingly sober material from the star of Twenty Twelve and Up the Women. As first features go, it’s a touch uneven but essentially promising.
Less action is more ambition in the case of Triple Frontier. Once attached to the likes of Tom Hanks, Mahershala Ali and Johnny Depp, the film has retained some degree of its star power in the casting of Ben Affleck and Oscar Isaac. It benefits too from a muscular but sage approach by director J. C. Chandor and soundtrack that plays heavy on heightening the fun. If the film lacks in many regards – tension, pacing and Charlie Hunnam’s accent – it succeeds in as many more.
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