HONEY BOY
Shia LaBeouf writes and stars in a stellar, self-therapeutic, and sensitive film about his rough past that leads to his restorative present. He lays it all on the line for us to understand his side of the story. His memories, his pain, his rage. In portraying his own father, LaBeouf is miraculous, inserting himself into the mentality of a man he may never understand. Therefore, maybe this is the only way he knows how. It’s on-screen healing at its finest.
Director Alma Har’el isn’t as concerned with actuality and time as much as the personal soul searching that’s taking place. She intertwines a story of a young child actor at the mercy of his father, and that same boy growing up to be a reckless movie star sent to rehab. Noah Jupe and Lucas Hedges, respectively, are unbelievable in depicting how delicate a parent/child relationship is, and once broken, can take a lifetime to piece it back together.
LOST TRANSMISSIONS
Simon Pegg plays a talented music producer with schizophrenia while Juno Temple portrays an aspiring songwriter who plods around L.A. to get him the help he needs. Separately, they each dig deep to find that right kind of rawness and vulnerability to explore two cleverly creative people who are off their meds. Unfortunately, together their duet is nothing more than a timeworn tune. In director Katharine O’Brien’s feature debut, the friendship between Hannah (Temple) and Theo (Pegg) isn’t given the appropriate amount of time to grow and for us to wholeheartedly buy into why she’s doing all of this for him.
Maybe since they feel as though they’re on the same wavelength in their minds and both live in their own kind of anguish – she has no choice but to be his guardian angel. It’s possible, but O’Brien doesn’t show enough to lead to such a supposedly deeper connection. As the unbalanced drama tries to find its way home, the narrative feels unresolved. Then again, so are these character’s lives. We’re just missing that consequential connection to them that would’ve made a world of difference.
Brandon Vick is a member of The Music City Film Critics’ Association, the resident film critic of the SoBros Network, and the star of The Vick’s Flicks Podcast. Follow him on Twitter @SirBrandonV and be sure to search #VicksFlicks for all of his latest movie reviews.
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