Honey Boy (2019)
Directed by Alma Har'el
The story of a child star attempting to mend his relationship with his law-breaking, alcohol-abusing father over the course of a decade, loosely based on Shia LaBeouf’s life.
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4 films that influenced Honey Boy
What critics say influenced Honey Boy
It would be easy to criticize Honey Boy for following in the same footsteps as other tragic childhood stories like The Florida Project or Mommie Dearest , or other festival darlings like I, Tonya and Precious .
Noah Jupe ( Wonder, A Quiet Place, the upcoming Ford v Ferrari ) is quite a find as he manages to deal with some rather mature situations that faced LaBeouf as a kid living with his irresponsible, violence-prone father in a sleazy motel that at times recalls moments from The Florida Project .
As personal a project as Honey Boy may be — and as powerfully felt as it often is — the movie sometimes has the whiff of an artful rehashing of themes and characters familiar from various recent problematic-parent films like We the Animals , The Florida Project and I, Tonya (and, before those, Precious , Affliction , The Great Santini , camp classic Mommie Dearest and so many others).
But then there’s moments away from James, where young Otis gets to be a boy discovering the wonders of even this squalid world of these busted down apartments (think The Florida Project).
But as directed by Alma Har’el, whose music video background is easy to detect, “Honey Boy” is visually lyrical, moving to its own pace and melody and similar to 2017’s “The Florida Project” in how it grants beauty to the dingy, impoverished outskirts of glamorous landmarks.
Otis and James live in a The Florida Project-esque motel in rather unseemly conditions.
Director Alma Har’el, making her first fiction feature, was challenged on Twitter about influences, and she described Alejandro Jodorowsky’s “Santa Sangre,” “El Topo,” “Fando Y Lis” and “The Holy Mountain” as “psycho magic”: that admiration provides one entry into fathoming the weave and wooze of her work, elevating what could have been narcissistic wallow into a fabric of memory about the bloom of consciousness and self-awareness, but also undying hope toward blood itself.
Alma Har’el and cinematographer Natasha Braier ( The Neon Demon ; The Rover ) have utilised cinematic and naturalistic techniques to enrich the drama.
Locations are limited to film sets, rehab, and that dingy motel, cinematographer Natasha Braier (“The Neon Demon”) utilizing cramped space well and a drab palette which is a little too dark.
The result is a tender portrayal of the man who damaged him, and a genuine attempt to break the cycle of alcoholism and abuse that reaches back generations — all of it visually heightened via Har’el’s collaboration with “The Neon Demon” cinematographer Natasha Braier and rendered emotionally resonant by a series of central performances that feel grounded, never gonzo.
The musical score by Alex Somers (“ Captain Fantastic “) aids the viewer in feeling the emotion LeBeouf offers up.