Beautiful Boy (2010 film)

Beautiful Boy is a 2010 American drama film directed by Shawn Ku and written by Ku and Michael Armbruster. The film stars Michael Sheen and Maria Bello as Bill and Kate Carroll, a married couple whose lives unravel after their 18-year-old son Sam (played by Kyle Gallner) dies in a school shooting and is identified as the perpetrator. The supporting cast includes Alan Tudyk, Moon Bloodgood, Austin Nichols, Meat Loaf and Myra Turley.

Beautiful Boy premiered at the San Sebastián International Film Festival in September 2010 and was released in the United States on June 3, 2011, by Anchor Bay Entertainment. The film grossed $140,123 in its limited theatrical run.

Critical reception was mixed to positive: reviewers widely praised Sheen and Bello’s performances, while some criticized the film’s storytelling and approach to its subject matter. The film holds a 71% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a score of 62 on Metacritic. At the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival, it won the Prize of the International Critics (FIPRESCI) for the Discovery program.