Honey Boy (film)

Honey Boy is a 2019 American drama film, directed by Alma Har'el, from a screenplay by Shia LaBeouf, based on his childhood and his relationship with his father. It stars LaBeouf, Lucas Hedges, Noah Jupe and FKA Twigs.

It had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 25, 2019. It is scheduled to be released on November 8, 2019, by Amazon Studios.

Cast

 * Lucas Hedges as Otis Lort
 * Noah Jupe as Young Otis Lort
 * Shia LaBeouf as James Lort
 * FKA Twigs as Little Q
 * Maika Monroe as Sandra
 * Natasha Lyonne
 * Martin Starr
 * Byron Bowers as Percy
 * Laura San Giacomo
 * Clifton Collins Jr. as Tom

Production
Shia LaBeouf based the script on his own life, with his character being based on his own father, and the title comes from his childhood nickname. LaBeouf wrote the script as a part of his rehabilitation program.

In March 2018, it was announced Lucas Hedges and LaBeouf had joined the cast of the film, with Alma Har'el directing from a screenplay written by LaBeouf. Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, Daniela Taplin Lundberg, Christopher Leggett will produce the film under their Automatik, Stay Gold Features and Delirio Films banners, respectively. Fred Berger will serve as an executive producer. LaBeouf had shared the screenplay with Har'el, a friend and creative collaborator, who decided that she wanted to direct it. In April 2018, Noah Jupe joined the cast of the film. In May 2018, Clifton Collins Jr., Maika Monroe, Natasha Lyonne, Martin Starr, Byron Bowers and Laura San Giacomo joined the cast of the film. In June 2018, it was announced FKA Twigs had joined the cast of the film.

Asked about how making a film based on his script affected his rehab, LaBeouf said: ""It is strange to fetishize your pain and make a product out of it and feel guilty about that. It felt very selfish. This whole thing felt very selfish. I never went into this thinking, 'Oh, I am going to fucking help people.' That wasn't my goal. I was falling apart.""

Filming
Production began in May 2018, in Los Angeles, California.

Release
It had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 25, 2019. Shortly after, Amazon Studios acquired distribution rights to the film. It is scheduled to be released on November 8, 2019.

Critical response
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 100% based on 39 reviews, and an average rating of 7.81/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Honey Boy serves as an act of cinematic therapy for its screenwriter and subject -- one whose unique perspective should strike a chord in audiences from all backgrounds." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score 64 out of 100, based on 12 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

A.A. Dowd of The A.V. Club wrote, “As a glorified form of drama therapy, Honey Boy is fascinating.”