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We saw Julia Roberts and Lucas Hedges’ tearful mother-son reunion in the first teaser for Ben Is Back , an opioid addiction drama written and directed by Hedges’ real-life father Peter Hedges. With the first full trailer, we now see the prodigal son’s harrowing 24-hour journey to come—and to stay—clean after coming home from rehab.
Roberts plays Holly Burns, whose 19-year-old son Ben unexpectedly shows back up at her door on Christmas Eve morning. Ben has been released for the next 24 hours from rehab, where he’s been recovering from an opioid addiction, and he has a number of past demons to wrangle while trying to stay sober back home. His supportive but weary mother must sustain her undying love for her son as he repays old debts, goes missing, comes to the brink of death and tests the patience of the rest of their family as new truths are revealed.
The new trailer promises strong performances from both Roberts and Hedges, who are entering this year’s awards race as an Oscar winner and nominee, respectively. This year, Hedges’ performance in Ben Is Back will go up against fellow Lady Bird boyfriend Timothée Chalamet’s in addiction drama Beautiful Boy , as well as his own in Joel Edgerton’s gay-conversion camp drama Boy Erased .
Ben Is Back also stars Courtney B. Vance (The People vs. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story ) and Hedges’ Lady Bird co-star Kathryn Newton.
Ben Is Back opens in select theaters Dec. 7.
Watch the trailer below.
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