{"id":3818,"date":"2016-03-05T03:03:17","date_gmt":"2016-03-04T21:33:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=3818"},"modified":"2016-03-05T03:03:17","modified_gmt":"2016-03-04T21:33:17","slug":"ben-is-back-review-addiction-maternal-love","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=3818","title":{"rendered":"Ben is Back Review: A Heartbreaking Take on the Addiction of Maternal Love"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A<\/span><\/p><\/div>

t one crucial point in Peter Hedges\u2019 <\/span>Ben Is Back<\/span><\/i>, a mourning <\/span>mother<\/span><\/a> tells Holly (a heartbreaking Julia Roberts), the mother of four children that they can\u2019t save their kids. <\/span>\n\nThe context for this emotionally raw exchange is <\/span>drug<\/span><\/a> addiction and death, but the obligations of motherhood guarantee that the sentiment is universal. The situation could very well lend itself to two mothers being tormented by their inability to shield their kids from the ruthlessness of the world outside their home. And so, maternal love in <\/span>Ben is Back <\/span><\/i>comes without an expiry date \u2013 just like drug addiction. The film investigates the aftermath of addiction, both as a raging epidemic and as a crushing emotion.<\/span>\n\nBen is Back<\/span><\/i> trains its focus on one day in the lives of the mixed-race family who live in the suburbs of New York City. It\u2019s <\/span>Christmas eve<\/span><\/a> and the film opens with Holly watching her three kids (the youngest two are from her second marriage to Neal, a black man) rehearse for a Christmas show at their neighbourhood church. As they return home, they confront a hooded figure prancing on their driveway. It\u2019s Ben (Lucas Hedges in stellar form) Holly\u2019s eldest son and the family\u2019s fourth kid. Ben is also an addict who is supposed to be in rehab. Instead, as we learn, he\u2019d made his way home for the holidays.<\/span>\n\nBen\u2019s family digests his visit in contrasting ways: His two half-siblings are overjoyed at his arrival. His sister Ivy, is wary of him being in the house, holding on to the reminders of his previous visits gone south. His stepfather is concerned about Ben missing <\/span>rehab<\/span><\/a>, unaware that his voice of reason could be perceived as indifference (\u201cIf he was black, he\u2019d be in prison by now,\u201d he tells Holly). Yet his mother, Holly embraces him wholeheartedly, promptly making Ben the centre of her attention at the risk of alienating her family.<\/span>\n\n

The context for this emotionally raw exchange is drug addiction and death, but the obligations of motherhood guarantee that the sentiment is universal.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\nAnd yet there\u2019s a residual fear in all of them when it comes to Ben. Like Holly, they\u2019re trained to keep an eye on him, almost waiting for him to relapse \u2013 so that they recognise him. Their body language around him suggests a complicated family history. Especially when Holly quietly goes about hiding painkillers and jewellery despite Ben\u2019s claims of being 77 days <\/span>sober<\/span><\/a>. But the film never really spells it out, lending a suffocating aura to every frame.<\/span>\n\nUnlike this year\u2019s other addiction drama, <\/span>Beautiful Boy, Ben is Back <\/span><\/i>never seems interested in being a character portrait of a recovering addict. It\u2019s why the question of whether Ben will <\/span>relapse<\/span><\/a> is not allowed to design its proceedings; the film assumes he will. Instead, <\/span>Ben is Back<\/span><\/i> remains singularly determined with exploring the depths of addiction \u2013 of a boy to his impulses; of an addict to his painkillers; and of a mother to her maternal instincts. <\/span>\n\nSo early on, when Holly informs Ben that he can stay only if he follows a set of conditions (\u201cYou\u2019re all mine,\u201d she tells him) \u2013 it\u2019s as much a warning to an addict as it is evidence of Holly craving her own fix. We see Ben\u2019s guilt when it dawns on him that his family is afraid of him; we feel his desperation to be loved at home; and are witness to his efforts to come clean despite himself. But on the other hand, <\/span>Ben is Back <\/span><\/i>also makes us recognise Holly\u2019s addiction. She follows her <\/span>son<\/span><\/a> \u2013 to a bathroom, a meeting, and to a rescue mission \u2013 in the guise of a motivational quote, convinced that her love will win over his addiction. Even when he begs her to not listen to him, trust him, and save him. Like Ben, Holly lies to her family in the search for her fix. And just like an addict, she too announces her plans of giving up before dutifully turning back. <\/span>\n\n

She follows her son \u2013 to a bathroom, a meeting, and to a rescue mission \u2013 in the guise of a motivational quote, convinced that her love will win over his addiction.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\nIt leads to a gut-wrenching last sequence that intensifies that \u201cheart in your mouth\u201d feeling when Holly\u2019s addiction collides with Ben\u2019s <\/span>demons<\/span><\/a>. When it dawns on you that they were triggering the other\u2019s addiction all this while. <\/span>Ben is Back<\/span><\/i> implies that both mother and son are essentially repeating the same cycle: He is as addicted to falling as his mother is to catching him. After all, some addictions have no cure. <\/span>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In Peter Hedges\u2019 Ben Is Back, maternal love comes without an expiry date \u2013 just like drug addiction. The film investigates the aftermath of addiction, both as a raging epidemic and as a crushing emotion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":103,"featured_media":3819,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[82],"tags":[316,7150,480,18,1743,3223,7151,7152,7153,7154,1788,7155],"class_list":["post-3818","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pop-culture","tag-addiction","tag-ben-is-back","tag-drugs","tag-family","tag-film-review","tag-julia-roberts","tag-maternal-love","tag-peter-hedges","tag-recovery","tag-rehab","tag-review","tag-sober"],"yoast_head":"\nBen is Back Review: A Heartbreaking Take on the Addiction of Maternal Love<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In Peter Hedges\u2019 Ben Is Back, maternal love comes without an expiry date \u2013 just like drug addiction. The film investigates the aftermath of addiction, both as a raging epidemic and as a crushing emotion.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=3818\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ben is Back Review: A Heartbreaking Take on the Addiction of Maternal Love\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In Peter Hedges\u2019 Ben Is Back, maternal love comes without an expiry date \u2013 just like drug addiction. The film investigates the aftermath of addiction, both as a raging epidemic and as a crushing emotion.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=3818\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Arr\u00e9\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-03-04T21:33:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1544795604-1024x573.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"573\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Poulomi Das\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Ben is Back Review: A Heartbreaking Take on the Addiction of Maternal Love\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"In Peter Hedges\u2019 Ben Is Back, maternal love comes without an expiry date \u2013 just like drug addiction. The film investigates the aftermath of addiction, both as a raging epidemic and as a crushing emotion.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Poulomi Das\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=3818#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=3818\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Poulomi Das\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7cc6b159b4669ddf75eae5f2b536d679\"},\"headline\":\"Ben is Back Review: A Heartbreaking Take on the Addiction of Maternal Love\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-03-04T21:33:17+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=3818\"},\"wordCount\":801,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=3818#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1544795604.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"addiction\",\"Ben is BAck\",\"drugs\",\"family\",\"Film Review\",\"Julia Roberts\",\"maternal love\",\"Peter Hedges\",\"recovery\",\"rehab\",\"Review\",\"sober\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Pop Culture\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=3818\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=3818\",\"name\":\"Ben is Back Review: A Heartbreaking Take on the Addiction of Maternal Love\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=3818#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=3818#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1544795604.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-03-04T21:33:17+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7cc6b159b4669ddf75eae5f2b536d679\"},\"description\":\"In Peter Hedges\u2019 Ben Is Back, maternal love comes without an expiry date \u2013 just like drug addiction. The film investigates the aftermath of addiction, both as a raging epidemic and as a crushing emotion.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=3818#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=3818\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=3818#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1544795604.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1544795604.jpg\",\"width\":1520,\"height\":850},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=3818#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Ben is Back Review: A Heartbreaking Take on the Addiction of Maternal Love\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/\",\"name\":\"Arr\u00e9\",\"description\":\"In every person lies a creator and in every creator, an enterprise.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7cc6b159b4669ddf75eae5f2b536d679\",\"name\":\"Poulomi Das\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9cf0b507b562a532eccd19be07aac58ddce2a6079eb4ea28e6afef54b07f4cf9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9cf0b507b562a532eccd19be07aac58ddce2a6079eb4ea28e6afef54b07f4cf9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9cf0b507b562a532eccd19be07aac58ddce2a6079eb4ea28e6afef54b07f4cf9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Poulomi Das\"},\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/?author=103\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Ben is Back Review: A Heartbreaking Take on the Addiction of Maternal Love","description":"In Peter Hedges\u2019 Ben Is Back, maternal love comes without an expiry date \u2013 just like drug addiction. The film investigates the aftermath of addiction, both as a raging epidemic and as a crushing emotion.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=3818","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Ben is Back Review: A Heartbreaking Take on the Addiction of Maternal Love","og_description":"In Peter Hedges\u2019 Ben Is Back, maternal love comes without an expiry date \u2013 just like drug addiction. The film investigates the aftermath of addiction, both as a raging epidemic and as a crushing emotion.","og_url":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=3818","og_site_name":"Arr\u00e9","article_published_time":"2016-03-04T21:33:17+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":573,"url":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1544795604-1024x573.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Poulomi Das","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"Ben is Back Review: A Heartbreaking Take on the Addiction of Maternal Love","twitter_description":"In Peter Hedges\u2019 Ben Is Back, maternal love comes without an expiry date \u2013 just like drug addiction. The film investigates the aftermath of addiction, both as a raging epidemic and as a crushing emotion.","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Poulomi Das","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=3818#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=3818"},"author":{"name":"Poulomi Das","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#\/schema\/person\/7cc6b159b4669ddf75eae5f2b536d679"},"headline":"Ben is Back Review: A Heartbreaking Take on the Addiction of Maternal Love","datePublished":"2016-03-04T21:33:17+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=3818"},"wordCount":801,"image":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=3818#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1544795604.jpg","keywords":["addiction","Ben is BAck","drugs","family","Film Review","Julia Roberts","maternal love","Peter Hedges","recovery","rehab","Review","sober"],"articleSection":["Pop Culture"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=3818","url":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=3818","name":"Ben is Back Review: A Heartbreaking Take on the Addiction of Maternal Love","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=3818#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=3818#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1544795604.jpg","datePublished":"2016-03-04T21:33:17+00:00","author":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#\/schema\/person\/7cc6b159b4669ddf75eae5f2b536d679"},"description":"In Peter Hedges\u2019 Ben Is Back, maternal love comes without an expiry date \u2013 just like drug addiction. The film investigates the aftermath of addiction, both as a raging epidemic and as a crushing emotion.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=3818#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=3818"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=3818#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1544795604.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1544795604.jpg","width":1520,"height":850},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=3818#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Ben is Back Review: A Heartbreaking Take on the Addiction of Maternal Love"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#website","url":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/","name":"Arr\u00e9","description":"In every person lies a creator and in every creator, an enterprise.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#\/schema\/person\/7cc6b159b4669ddf75eae5f2b536d679","name":"Poulomi Das","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9cf0b507b562a532eccd19be07aac58ddce2a6079eb4ea28e6afef54b07f4cf9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9cf0b507b562a532eccd19be07aac58ddce2a6079eb4ea28e6afef54b07f4cf9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9cf0b507b562a532eccd19be07aac58ddce2a6079eb4ea28e6afef54b07f4cf9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Poulomi Das"},"url":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?author=103"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1544795604.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3818","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/103"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3818"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3818\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3818"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3818"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}