Ben is back is a 2018 American drama movie by the Academy nominated screenplay writer and director Peter Hedges. It is a heartwarming tale that impressed both critics and audiences.
Does He?
Now back to the question. Even though the question is the major spoiler but since (assuming) you did read the title, you knew what you were walking into, and I don’t want to hear the whines later about spoiling it for you. So last warning, this article would contain spoilers, so bounce out now if you don’t want to know.
Okay, with that out of the way, Ben does not die by the end of the movie. His mother reaches the warehouse. He overdoses just in time to see him unconscious and unresponsive, so she uses the Naloxone kit from Maggie’s mother and does the whole procedure, from administering nasal Naloxone to CPR. She had just about lost hope when Ben woke up, opened his eyes, and moved.
Back It Up A Little
Although it answered the question, that was abrupt; let’s back it up a little. What is ‘Ben is back’? Well, ‘Ben is back’ is an emotional movie with a strong and relatable message; it is emotional because what the creators are trying to convey is very real. Ben is back and follows Ben, a young man who is a drug addict trying to recover.
He comes back to his home for the Christmas holidays, stating that his sponsor suggested it might do him good and help him recover. Ben’s mother, who loves him very much, is delighted to see him at home. But as the movie proceeds, his suspicious behavior and secretive attitude make her concerned and panicked.
We discover that Ben became an addict because Ben’s former doctor, now an older man with dementia, as he hooked him up with drugs after a snowboarding accident. She takes him shopping, where he scares her badly; hence, she takes him to a cemetery to scold him and ask him where he would like to be buried after he dies much sooner than later.
The plot then goes where the family’s dog, ponce, gets stolen, and Ben blames himself since Clayton, the drug dealer took the dog as Spencer, Ben’s druggie friend, recalls. Ben goes in search and rescue the dog, and when his mother tries to follow him, he reveals all the secrets, like Maggie’s (his ex) death and his lie about his sponsor, and his hiding drugs in his younger sibling, Ivy’s room and leaves his mother at the gas station.
He buys back the dog and takes the drugs Clayton gave him to the barn and overdoses, where his mother comes looking for him and eventually saves him.
Was This The First Time?
No, this wasn’t the first time Ben almost died or overdosed. Before he was in rehab for recovery, Ben overdosed and was found and saved yet again by his mother and his dog ponce.
It is a raw and vulnerable movie that resonates so much with people as everyone relates to Ben or Holly because they are either recovering addicts or struggling family or friends. The movie doesn’t shy away from showing the transparent reality.
Ben could’ve died, and millions of Ben already have. The movie is a painful reminder of how addiction destroys everything. It’s a much-needed lesson and the perspective of both sides as it’s not as simple as black and white.
Where To Watch?
Ben is back is available on Amazon Prime Video; it can also be rented or purchased on Youtube, Apple tv, or Google Play movies and TV.
