Directed by:
Alma Har'elScreenplay:
Shia LaBeoufCinematography:
Natasha BraierComposer:
Alex SomersCast:
Shia LaBeouf, Lucas Hedges, Noah Jupe, Laura San Giacomo, Natasha Lyonne, Maika Monroe, Clifton Collins Jr., Martin Starr, Dorian Brown Pham, Craig Stark (more)VOD (2)
Plots(1)
From a screenplay by Shia LaBeouf, based on his own experiences, award-winning filmmaker Alma Har'el brings to life a young actor's stormy childhood and early adult years as he struggles to reconcile with his father through cinema and dreams. Fictionalising his childhood's ascent to stardom, and subsequent adult crash-landing into rehab and recovery, Har'el casts Noah Jupe and Lucas Hedges as Otis Lort, navigating different stages in a frenetic career. LaBeouf takes on the daring and therapeutic challenge of playing a version of his own father, an ex-rodeo clown and a felon. Artist and musician FKA twigs makes her feature-film debut, playing neighbour and kindred spirit to the younger Otis in their garden-court motel home. Har'el's feature narrative debut is a one-of-a-kind collaboration between filmmaker and subject, exploring art as therapy and imagination as hope. (Umbrella Entertainment)
(more)Reviews (3)
An interesting therapy. I was really interested how Shia LaBeouf closed the family chapter of his life and in the end it wasn’t as shocking as it seemed. And because this movie is mainly about his father, I’m able to say that it was, without any doubt, weird. But it could be much worse. Moreover Honey Boy was quite artsy so I had to try hard to find something in it that would make it enjoyable for me. The best part of the movie was probably the ending with music by Bob Dylan. It is sad, but life goes on. Hopefully it would help Shia to be a better man and a better actor. I wouldn’t mind. He is, without any doubt, charming.
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Honey Boy is a mediocrely made film about the problematic relationship between father and son that does not stand out from many similar films in terms of genre and theme. The acting is quite good and the script isn't entirely bad, but I felt that more could have been made of it – alcoholism, a few slaps and a nice load of foul language don't always guarantee a strong story. The emotions were there in places, but the ending felt a bit shallow.
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