Honey Boy is a compelling portrayal of using pain as a driving force to success, only for it to be the reason for hitting rock bottom.
In a cathartic semi-autobiographical story written by Shia LeBeouf, we see the loss of innocence at an early age, but still longing for it; that goes all the way into early adulthood, where the skin is thick, but the scars are ever-present.
I enjoyed how the film isn't exactly linear. We see equal amounts of both moments in the life of Otis (Lucas Hedges and Noah Jupe).
Hedges keeps delivering one great performance after the other, while LeBeouf (playing his own father) plays extremely insane stage dad to painful perfection. In the end, it was Jupe's performance that towers all. This was very much an adult role disguised as a child. Jupe delivered and then some, keeping up with LeBeouf at all times.
Alma Har'el delivered a beautiful-looking film and gave it good pacing, with jumping timelines and getting the most out of the actors. A fantastic feature-film debut for the exciting up-and-coming Har'el.
My score: ★★★★½
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