Review of Honey Boy (2019) by Jordanlayton — 28 Apr 2020

Shia LaBeouf plays his own father in this clearly therapeutic film for him about his troubled childhood. I had a hard time fully enjoying this film on its own merits because of the fact that Shia wrote and starred in it as his own father.

That fact stayed in the back of my head for much of the film and while it enhanced some scenes, I feel like it retracted from the film overall. It's hard to describe, but I got the slight feeling that Shia wrote this film as an explanation or perhaps even an excuse for his behavior.

I know how unfair that is to him and that I should probably give him the benefit of the doubt that this was written purely to tell his story and for his own artistic fulfillment, but once that thought wormed itself into my head, certain scenes started to take another light.

Regarding purely the film without any background, this is a competently made film with clear thought put into shot composition, story structure, and character portrayal of real people. Shia, Lucas Hedges, and the child actor, Noah Jupe, all gave great performances.

Jupe in particular was a welcome surprise, rising above other child stars (ironically, something his character did as well).