'Honey Boy': Self-Redemption for Shia

Review: 8.5/10

It is widely known that child actors are often manipulated and taken advantage of by a system that can be incredibly cruel, sometimes pushing them to resort to poor decision making while attempting to cope with these stressors. The star studded lives that many child actors live are often mirages that disguise larger issues within their lives, such as not receiving full compensation for their work and experiencing abuse, sometimes stemming from their parents. This was a reality that was depicted in Shia LaBeouf's most recent film Honey Boy (2019) that he both wrote and starred in.

This film hit home for LaBeouf as it is based on his early life and specifically the relationship that he had with his own father, making this project both painfully honest and self-reflective for the actor. LaBeouf even wrote the screenplay while he was in rehab, maximizing emotionality during the most difficult of times. The story is about Otis, a child actor who is victimized by the hardships that so many child actors experience such as parental abuse, emotional confusion, and the long-lasting effects of trauma. Young stars, Noah Jupe (Ford v. Ferrari, A Quiet Place) and Lucas Hedges (Manchester by the Sea, Lady Bird) play Otis, based on LaBeouf at twelve and twenty-two years old. Both actors highlight the immense pain that has latched on to the young child actor and they also do a fantastic job of depicting the distinct emotional differences of a child versus a young adult.

LaBeouf plays the role of Otis' abusive and troubled father, who despite loving his son deeply, experiences trauma of his own and manipulates, abuses, controls, and holds the young boy back. Throughout the film you can really tell how much this movie means to LaBeouf, as he delivers a raw and grueling performance that allows the audience to feel his agony and search for redemption.

Honey Boy is a film that will make you feel all sorts of sad, but it will also push you to self-reflect and sympathize for others like Otis. I applaud LaBeouf and director Alma Har'el for creating a project that is visceral, raw, and very revealing of issues that stem from trauma, such as addiction and low self-worth. In 2019 Shia LaBeouf made a comeback, as he also starred in the feel good film Peanut Butter Falcon alongside Dakota Johnson (Fifty Shades of Grey, How to be Single). Something that is super exciting for fans is that rumor has it that LaBeouf has already written a script about the life of BROCKHAMPTON standout Kevin Abstract, and I am really hoping that this plays out.