Beautiful Boy (2018)
A father earnestly fights to save his son from addiction's gritty, bleak spiral, based on a true story.
After he and his first wife separate, journalist David Sheff struggles to help their teenage son, who goes from experimenting with drugs to becoming devastatingly addicted to methamphetamine.
How intense is Beautiful Boy?
Beautiful Boy has no gore and some violence. Emotionally it is devastating. The pace is measured, and it is a full-attention watch. Rated R.
What Beautiful Boy feels like
- Tone
- melancholygrittyearnestbleak
- Pace
- Measured
- Best for
- Full attention
- True story
- Yes, based on a book.
Where to stream Beautiful Boy
US availability via TMDB, last checked Sep 15, 2026. The app filters picks to the services you actually have.
Is Beautiful Boy for you?
Is Beautiful Boy scary?
No. Beautiful Boy is not a scary watch (scare level 0 of 3).
Is Beautiful Boy gory or violent?
No gore (0 of 3) and some violence (1 of 3). Squeamish viewers are fine here.
Is Beautiful Boy sad or heavy?
Yes. Emotional weight 3 of 3. It hits hard; do not plan anything light after.
Is Beautiful Boy OK for kids?
It is rated R, so it is made for adults. Intensity: scare 0, gore 0, violence 1, each out of 3.
How long is Beautiful Boy?
Beautiful Boy runs 2h 1m.
Where can I stream Beautiful Boy?
Beautiful Boy is streaming on Prime Video.
Does Beautiful Boy have a happy ending? spoiler-safe answer
Bittersweet. It earns its ending, but not everyone gets what they want.
Cast and crew
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