Film Review: Honey Boy
Credit: Amazon Studios
By Erik Nielsen
For some, rehabilitation can also mean reinvention and as an act, this isn’t always confined to an institution or something that is court-ordered, although for Shia Labeouf it may have been necessary. But, after years of bad PR and a drunken arrest, the young actor who never shied away from the spotlight found a way to cope with the trauma that comes with young stardom and that is - Honey Boy.
Honey Boy precedes not just as a semi-autobiographical tale about Shia LaBeouf, but also, feels like a small staged play that acts as a story of forgiveness for his father, the ex-biker, alcoholic, heroin addict who abused Shia when he was a child and spent the early part of his life in jail for assaulting his mother. The film never attempts to excuse any of his behaviors but you can tell, in what is Shia’s greatest performance to date, completely embodies the man that for better or worse, gave his son the pain that shaped his life.
LaBeouf’s story as an actor is told through two different times in his life and gives his character the name “Otis” or as his father calls him “Honey Boy”. Lucas Hedges is pitch-perfect as the older version of Otis, not only doing what sounds like a spot on Shia impression but taking the anger, violence, and angst he used in his Mid90s performance and dialing it up to 11. He’s been ordered to stay at a rehabilitation center after nearly killing himself and a girl in a drunk driving accident. He’s hesitant at first because the therapist (Laura San Giacomo) tells him he displays clear signs of PTSD and has to deal with the trauma head-on if he ever wants to get better. The scenes where they spar are powerful, as Hedges displays why he’s been so sought after since breaking onto the scene with Manchester By The Sea. He’s asked to jot down what he remembers of his father and here is where the flashbacks are triggered.
Credit: Amazon Studios
Noah Jupe is terrific as the twelve-year-old version of “Otis” and it’d be hard to pin down who gives the better performance as he has so much to do. We spend a majority of the movie with him and his dad where they live in a motel that is paid for by Otis and when reminded of that fact, his father reacts violently. So much of this film is the young Otis having to raise his father out of the disaster of a life he’s created for himself. “I want you here because you’re my dad.”, he pleads with his father after getting slapped around. But, for his father, the ex-rodeo clown, he’s not only jealous of his son but ashamed that he accepts the money when offered which he’ll use on heroin and the strip club. This’ll leave the young boy alone quite often and he ends up striking up a somewhat romantic kinship with a hooker who stays across the lot at the motel, played by pop-star FKA Twigs. The scenes with these kindred spirits, visually, exists in another realm. Almost always shot during sunset, the light that enshrouds them is gorgeous as they traverse the empty motel lot and play in the pool but because of the light, the scenes have an ethereal quality leaving you with the feeling that you’ve been in a dream. She offers the only escape from the inevitable violence and sadness that comes from Otis’ father.
As we cut back and forth between the two stages of their life we can see, in real-time, how the trauma endured from an abusive father affected his behavior. There’s a brief 5-second scene that is powerful as we watch the young twelve-year-old Otis run across a field, golden light perfectly in frame, screaming in joy and that is immediately cut by the older Otis, screaming in bone-chilling anguish. There are dreamlike interludes as well; like Otis visiting the motel at his current age, seeing his dad in full rodeo clown garb and sitting next to an empty grave. “You can’t expect me to get sober for you son”, his dad will whisper. Otis has to own up to his mistakes and that’s exactly what Shia does by making this film.
Credit: Amazon Studios
The real star of the film though is Shia LaBeouf as the alcoholic father. He surprisingly has a lot of fun with the role as someone who wants to teach his son but ultimately can’t because he’s so broken. He’ll have epic, profanity-laced rants about the world (often directed at Shia’s mother) but also clever insights into performance. It’s essentially why Otis wants him around and his dad will show him some of his old rodeo clown tricks. The film works because of how open Shia is to playing the man who beat him, with all of his flaws but also exhibiting a man who just wants to figure it out. He embraces his son’s success but can’t quite figure out why he’s there. It’s an internal battle that is managed and staged so beautifully and with vulnerability. We can feel the heartbreak seething through the screen. Shia so desperately wants to understand his father and this film shows us that performance can lead to catharsis.
As the older Otis manages the weight of his childhood we can see too that this film exists because the actor was able to accept the help. It’s not only about him but about mental health and what the proper support system can do for someone who has suffered so deeply. Honey Boy will be looked back on a film that for Shia, is career-defining and firmly re-establishes him as an actor who will have a long and storied career.
