BITTER LIFE MAKES FOR SWEET DRAMA IN ‘HONEY BOY’
If the average filmgoer had been asked about actor Shia LaBeouf a couple of years ago, he or she probably would have neglected his movie career in favor of his troublesome behavior tailor-made for the tabloids. That’s what multiple arrests for fighting and drunkenness as well as shouting racist and sexist comments at a police officer (for which he subsequently has apologized) and being the subject of plagiarism allegations will do for you.
But 2019 just might be his year for a turnaround.
Earlier this year, the charming “The Peanut Butter Falcon” — an updated Huck Finn story in which he starred — showed off his brusque charisma, and now there’s the more personal “Honey Boy,” in which he lays his demons bare by playing a man based on his emotionally abusive and manipulative father. Written by LeBeouf and directed by documentary filmmaker Alma Ha’rel, “Honey Boy” is catharsis as compelling character study.
The film swings between preteen Otis (Noah Jupe, “A Quiet Place”) and older Otis (Lucas Hedges, “Manchester by the Sea”) coming to grips with a childhood ripped apart at the seams. Both are actors trying to make it in Hollywood — young Otis lives with his substance-abusing dad, James (LaBeouf), in motor-courthotel squalor while mom is just a voice on the phone that James screams at from time to time.
Otis and James have a testy relationship with Otis claiming that James works for him — making sure he gets to the set on time and so forth — and the only reason he is able to see his son at all is because Otis is hiring him. In fact, Otis has a father figure elsewhere — Tom (Clifton Collins) — from the Big Brother mentorship program. And when Otis invites Tom over for dinner, things go downhill very quickly.
While James berates Otis for real and imagined sins, he has no problem with him smoking and even developing a relationship with an older girl played by singer FKA Twigs.
So it goes until older Otis seems to be enjoying some
career success. He is introduced in the middle of an action scene he’s filming, perhaps the equivalent to one of the “Transformers” movies in which LaBeouf played the part of trusty Sam Witwicky.
But Otis can’t seem to enjoy his good fortune because he has never resolved his issues with dear old dad. So, instead, he acts out, leading to him being given one last chance for redemption through a rehab program. In between, LaBeouf sketches a portrait of a broken man who doesn’t realize how his actions are affecting
those around him, especially his son.
LaBeouf plays James with a gritty intensity that comes from personal knowledge of the subject. He knows this man because he shared a small space with him for many years. If LaBeouf had any inclination to be self-indulgent, Ha’rel has kept him on a tight leash. The film moves briskly, clocking in at just over 90 minutes.
On the flip side, “Honey Boy” could have gone deeper into showing the destructive acts he committed before he was forced to deal with his issues. The movie doesn’t offer the full breadth and width of his colorful arrest record.
Of course, what matters now is what happens going forward. If LaBeouf can just keep himself out of jail and the headlines, he might be able to enjoy the career gifts that “Honey Boy” no doubt will bring.