Capsule Review: Shia LaBeouf plays his own father in the highly personal drama Honey Boy, in turn giving what could be the best performance of his career. Honey Boy follows the troubled life of Otis (played brilliantly by young Noah Jupe and at an older age by Lucas Hedges), who’s time with his dad was precarious at best. The personal nature of the story, co-written by LaBeouf, is seen and felt in every moment of the actor’s screen time. In one scene, the fater uses his young son (Jupe) as a surrogate to yell hurtful things at his ex-wife (Otis’ mother) through the phone. Can you imagine? As you watch it, you can see how much this memory means to LaBeouf.

Director Alma Har’el should also be commended for eliciting such great performances from the rest of the cast, and delivering an emotionally moving, tightly told (Honey Boy is only 94 minutes long) story.

Review by Erik Samdahl unless otherwise indicated.