Honey Boy

It's a strange movie in a sense that Shia Lebeauf who wrote and starred in this picture is kinda saying thank you to his father for making him the man he is today, but the portrayal of his father is not the most favorable. Movies do not get realer than this one. It holds nothing back and tells no lies it's just emotionally honest. I'll give it that. Shia's betrayal of that overbearing father was great and the movie overall is an excellent watch.

I found this to be a fairly dull autobiographical movie, told in flash-backs. Shia was a bit of a child movie star. Shia's father was an alcoholic, a sex offender and child abuser. This movie is an analysis of Shia's psychological problems, which stem from his childhood relationship with him, Shia plays the role of his father during the flash-backs. Though all the actors were great, I'm not sure if I really cared for Shia's pain and suffering and I don't really know why! No-one should have to experience this kind of childhood, I hope this movie helped Shia.

There were some great performances from Shia LaBeouf and Noah Jupe and powerful moments between these characters as father and son. Unfortunately, the film suffers from not having a clear story. There was no plot, suspense, or structure. This isn't inherently a bad thing if ALL the scenes are strong, but the weaker scenes were boring and never moved the story forward(particularly the scenes with Lucas Hedges in rehab). The film read as a bit incoherent, messy, and indulgent. If you're curious about Shia LaBeouf, you'll love the movie. The sad thing is that I love Alma Harel's prior documentary films, which have a magical quality this film totally lacked. The cinematography was also unimpressive. The film relies on a dreamy quality that isn't captured well. All in all, a disappointing film.

The performances in Honey Boy made me gasp in awe. Shia LaBeouf is so energetic and fast and lively and tremendously infectious in his dialogue delivery that I am going to make it a point to watch everything he acts in and read everything he writes. But then equally charming is Noah Jupe who plays a young prolific film extra in Hollywood while being managed by his hotheaded and abusive father separated from his wife perhaps because of his characteristics. What begins as an exploration of PTSD in cinema people (extras who take the toll for scenes that require technical and aesthetic perfection) smoothly turns into a drama between a father and his son with the typical roles reversed. Jupe plays the son who works so that they can drink soda and eat unhealthy and his father can pay hookers while LaBeouf plays the father, the parasite, who is but only human even though he controls the family thread that's left between them. Honey Boy makes you think and makes you yearn for relationships even though it highlights how they can go wrong sometimes and how such wrongs can have devastating impact in the long term. The fast-paced conversations between the two lead certainly outsmarts the haggard plotline that aches to the finish line which troubled me some. And boy, Lucas Hedges has grown up. TN. (Watched and reviewed at its India premiere at the 21st MAMI Mumbai Film Festival.)