'Being Charlie' faces renewed attention amid focus on Nick and Rob Reiner’s relationship

The 2015 film which offers insight into family tensions sparks buzz amid Rob and Michele Reiner's tragic deaths

Being Charlie, the 2015 film co-written by Nick Reiner and directed by his father Rob Reiner, has taken on renewed attention following reports surrounding the deaths of Rob and Michele Reiner, with the film offering a rare and candid reflection on tensions within the family a decade earlier.

On Sunday evening, PEOPLE reported that Nick Reiner was responsible for the Brentwood homicide of his parents, while the New York Post said the 32-year-old was a person of interest. Law enforcement has not confirmed either report. If Nick Reiner is ultimately alleged to be a suspect, it would not be the first time that conflict between him and his parents had entered public view.

Being Charlie premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2015 and was released the following year. Inspired by Nick Reiner’s struggles with addiction, the screenplay was co-written with a friend from rehab, while Rob Reiner drew on his own experience as a parent. Carey Elwes portrayed a stand-in for Rob Reiner, while Nick Robinson played the fictionalised son.

The film centres on Charlie Mills, an 18-year-old addict resentful of repeated stints in rehabilitation imposed by his parents. It avoids easy resolution, ending instead with an uneasy truce and an apology from the father figure, an admission Rob Reiner later said mirrored real life. “When Nick would tell us that it wasn’t working for him, we wouldn’t listen,” Reiner said at the time, adding that the family relied too heavily on experts rather than their son.

Michele Reiner echoed that sentiment, saying, “We were so influenced by these people… and we believed them.” Nick, speaking less frequently, acknowledged the toll of addiction and homelessness, saying, “I come from a nice family. I’m not supposed to be out there on the streets.”

Rob Reiner later reflected that making the film brought them closer, though critics noted unresolved tensions. Viewed now, the film stands as an unvarnished record of a family grappling with addiction, misunderstanding and the limits of reconciliation.