The unsteady career of director Rob Reiner continues with Being Charlie, a family affair that is very much based on real life. His son Nick Reiner wrote the screenplay (along with Matt Elisofon) about his battles with substance abuse, and the fact that he kept his filmmaking family a part of the plot and got his father to direct makes the real-life parallels unavoidable.
Hitting this close to home doesn’t always lead to the best films, though, especially when dealing with something that must’ve happened relatively recently (Nick is currently only 22 years old). As I and the many other people dealing with substance abuse within a family know, clarity doesn’t come quickly, and the road never really ends. On the other hand, our review) recently showed that a family production on the same topic can be great.
Still, this is a unique baring of a real-life story, and even though the Reiners and fellow writer Matt Elisofon clearly chose to give the film a slick veneer, there’s glimmers of hard truths even in the trailer. Any insight into this sort of a relationship is a help to those who experience it, and we are sadly far, far too common.
Being Charlie is directed by Rob Reiner and stars Nick Robinson, Cary Elwes, and Common. It will be released in the U.S. on May 6th, 2016. Further release dates are not currently known.
Do you like when filmmakers take on personal stories? What are some of your favorites? Let us know in the comments!
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