Ten years before the family’s worst day, a movie quietly exposed strain inside their walls that few outsiders saw. Rob Reiner directed that story with his son Nick, letting cameras sit where most families close the door. The drama never sells a simple fix; it watches love, anger, and fear trade places. Now, with the parents gone, that work feels less like entertainment and more like a map of pain.
A film born from strain
Nick Reiner co-wrote Being Charlie with Matt Elisofon, a friend he met in rehab. Rob Reiner directed, and he drew from life as a worried father. The family approved the project, so the film offered a candid view of their dynamic. Nick’s struggles were growing during those years.
It premiered at TIFF in September 2015, then reached viewers the next year on Starz. Charlie Mills, 18, fights addiction while his family pushes rehab stints. His father David is a movie star, and he is running for Congress. Charlie resents the harsh approach, even when fear drives it.
Cary Elwes played the father figure, and Nick Robinson carried Charlie’s rage and shame. The story offers few answers, and it refuses a tidy cure after years of forced programs. It ends on a guarded détente after the dad apologizes for treating his son with too little empathy.
Reports put Rob Reiner’s family in focus
Nick Reiner was arrested and booked on suspicion of murdering his parents, Rob and Michele Reiner. Reports tied the deaths to their home. The LAPD said it believes he was responsible. Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner had drawn public sympathy for years during Nick’s addiction struggle.
People first reported Sunday evening that Nick was responsible for the Brentwood homicide. The New York Post, however, described the 32-year-old as a person of interest. Hours later, the LAPD issued a statement Monday afternoon. It revealed the department’s belief that he was responsible for their deaths.
It was not the first time the family’s conflict reached the public. Ten years ago, father and son made a film about the challenges they faced at home. Because the screenplay drew from lived experience, the story now reads like an unexpected map of their dynamics today.
What they said about addiction
The film ends with the father apologizing, and that scene had a real-world echo. At TIFF, Rob Reiner said he owed that apology and gave it to Nick. He later told the LA Times they felt desperate, then trusted “diplomas on their wall” rather than his son.
Michele said outside voices swayed them, and they believed claims that Nick lied and manipulated. Nick stayed quiet through much of the dinner, yet he did explain why he got clean. He said he got sick of the life and hated living on streets and in homeless shelters.
Nick had long struggled with addiction, and the script drew from rehab experiences he shared with Elisofon. A Hollywood Reporter review noted the story felt personal. It said 22-year-old Nick’s drug problems shaped the film and its conflicts. The review suggested the movie served to work it out.
At TIFF, Rob Reiner addressed disagreements
During a post-screening Q&A, Rob Reiner said the team never aimed for therapy, yet it turned cathartic. A festivalgoer asked about their bond, and Nick did not answer that question. Rob then admitted they had disagreements while shaping the story. He said the process felt rough at times.
Nick eventually spoke, saying the work sometimes felt overwhelming for him. Rob said their relationship grew much closer by the time filming began. Still, Nick later admitted he was not sure he wanted to do it. A reporter sensed Rob’s closure sounded aspirational, not finished to him.
The Hollywood Reporter review described two “warring agendas” inside the film. The son’s side frames recovery as a long process that never simply ends. The dad’s side chases closure and a normal life, and the review said hugs cannot merge them. It criticized glib one-liners that promise instant healing.
YouTube made the drama a forum
The film is on YouTube, and late Sunday night it became a debate space. Rob Reiner’s story pushed viewers to argue about parenting an addicted child. Some voiced sympathy for the father’s fear, while others defended the son’s need for trust. Talk grew that YouTube might remove it.
Several scenes now make followers of the case uneasy. One in particular shows Charlie storming into the family home and confronting his father. With the killings fresh, the moment plays as a bruise, not drama. Viewers said it felt painful to watch. The source suggested YouTube might remove it.
Near the end, David apologizes and says experts pushed him to act tough. He asks what to do, offers Sacramento, and admits he feared Charlie dying on streets. Charlie says drugs quieted the noise. He hints his dad fueled it, says he does not hate him, then they hug.
Why the ending apology hits in new ways
What the film showed was not a tidy lesson, but a family trying to speak honestly. Rob Reiner framed the story without pretending recovery ends on cue. That choice now feels stark beside headlines and the debate. The father’s apology and the son’s pushback still echo, and the “noise” stays unresolved. Viewers now watch it as both confession and warning. If the film is online, no one watches it casually.
