At first, this movie confused me. I understood from the beginning that the guy had issues but I couldn't tell how bad they were until the story truly began.
Honey Boy is the story of a child actor called Otis Lort who battled with a seemingly mild but eventually severe case of abuse during his childhood.
As an adult, he battled alcoholism and was eventually sentenced to therapy and a group home where he was told that if he refused to receive proper treatment, he would be sent to prison for the charges held against him after an accident took place.
His therapist, Dr Moreno diagnosis him with PTSD but he constantly denies the fact and fights it until he is forced to go through events of his childhood with his therapist.
In the story he relates, he describes his father as the reason he works hard but also the reason behind his chronic misbehaviour. His father was a registered sex offender who earned the little money he had from pay given to him by his son.
His parents are divorced, and his mother registers him for a big brother program where Otis meets Tom, an older brother figure meant to serve as a good example to him. His father dislikes the idea and harrassed Tom while threatening him to stay away from Otis.
Otis is pained by all this but can't do anything about it, he finds refuge in the next-door neighbour who is referred to as Shy Girl. She comes around to keep Otis company and he pays her for her time.
After a number of altercations with his father and being placed as an intermediary between them while they fought over the phone, Otis confronts his father over his lack of parenting abilities and demands to be treated better, especially due to the fact that his paychecks pay the bills.
His father is offended by this and hits him, and eventually leaving him home alone in search of some pot to smoke.
He came back the next morning, to find Shy Girl in their home and the statements he makes forces her to hit him and run out of the house.
After this, his father has a talk with him and for that moment he understood that his father was pained on different levels as well.
Back in the present, Otis finds closure in himself and after being advised to find a part of the woods to scream and let out some steam, he eventually finds his release. He visits his old home and in his head, he sees someone who is his father wearing the old clown costume his father used to wear.
This movie was not easy to understand at first, but after a discussion about it, I could understand why it was so intense. Maybe you could see it and come have a chat about it.
I don't think it's on Netflix so you might as well get searching.
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