BEN IS BACK
Narrative Feature | 103 minutes

HIFF 2018

 Spotlight

Directed by
Peter Hedges

Produced by
Nina Jacobson, Brad Simpson, Teddy Schwarzman, Peter Hedges

Written by
Peter Hedges

Featuring
Julia Roberts, Lucas Hedges, Courtney B. Vance, Kathryn Newton

2018 | English | USA

On Christmas Eve, the Burns family is stunned by the unexpected arrival of their son Ben (Academy Award® nominee Lucas Hedges), returning home for the first time after entering rehab for opioid addiction. His mother Holly (Academy Award® winner Julia Roberts) is quick to eagerly welcome her son in, while the rest of the family are more skeptical of the reasons for his surprise return. As Ben is torn between proving his sobriety and falling into his old ways, Roberts perfectly portrays a mother struggling with her own warring instincts in this affecting look at one family’s struggle with a national epidemic.