LaBeouf’s feature film debut was in the The Christmas Path in 1998. Since then, he has starred in serveral commercially and critically successful movies. Here is a list of the best Shia LaBeouf films.
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5 American Honey (2016)
Via IMDb
A teenage girl (played by then-newbie Sasha Lane) with nothing to lose joins a traveling magazine sales crew and gets caught up in a whirlwind of hard partying, law bending and young love as she criss-crosses the Midwest. American Honey is a 2016 epic road drama film written and directed by acclaimed British filmmaker Andrea Arnold and also stars Riley Keough. While promoting the film, LaBeouf said to Variety:
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The film was selected to compete for the Palme d’Or at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival where it won the Jury Prize. It received positive reviews, with Lane’s debut performance receiving critical praise and accolades along with those of LaBeouf and Keough. For the 70th BAFTA Awards, American Honey received a nomination for Best British Film. American Honey overall was hailed as authentic and contemporary, with critics bringing particular attention to the chemistry between Lane and LaBeouf.
4 Pieces of a Woman (2020)
Bron Studios
Martha (Vanessa Kirby) and Sean (LaBeouf) are a Boston couple on the verge of parenthood whose lives change when a home birth ends in tragedy. Thus begins a yearlong odyssey for Martha, who must navigate her grief while working through relationships with her husband and her domineering mother (Ellen Burstyn), along with the publicly vilified midwife (Molly Parker). Pieces of a Woman is a deeply personal, searing and ultimately transcendent story of a woman learning to live alongside her loss.
The film also stars Sarah Snook (Succession), Iliza Shlesinger and Benny Safdie (Licorice Pizza). Martin Scorsese and Sam Levinson served as executive producers, and their influence is palpable throughout this powerful film that is in part based on Mundruczó and Wéber’s stage play of the same name. It premiered in September 2020 at the Venice International Film Festival, where Kirby won the Volpi Cup for Best Actress. It was released in select theaters that December before hitting Netflix in January 2021.
Though criticized for certain plot elements, the film overall became noted for its impressively long take childbirth scene at the start of the film, in addition to Kirby and LaBeouf’s undeniable rapport. For her performance, Kirby received Academy Award, BAFTA, SAG, Critics’ Choice, and Golden Globe nominations. LaBeouf’s character’s downward spiral in the film is at times hard to watch — which is a testament to his magnetic performance.
3 Borg vs. McEnroe (2017)
It’s the 1980 Wimbledon tennis championship. Bjorn Borg is the No. 1 tennis player in the world and undisputed king of Wimbledon. He has won the tournament four times in a row — a fifth consecutive time would be a world first. However, a new face has appeared in the tennis world and presents a serious threat to Borg’s title hopes: John McEnroe.
Borg vs McEnroeis the 2017 biographical sports drama film focusing on the famous professional rivalry between the tennis players at Wimbledon, culminating in their encounter in the men’s singles final, which remains one of the most dramatic tennis matches of all time. The film opened the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival and was praised for the camera work and acting performances in the film — pinpointing LaBeouf’s portrayal of McEnroe as a career-high performance.
2 The Peanut Butter Falcon (2019)
A highly regarded adventure story set in a modern Mark Twain world, The Peanut Butter Falcon begins with Zak (Zack Gottsagen), a young man with Down syndrome, running away from a nursing home to chase his dream of becoming a professional wrestler. Through circumstances beyond their control, Tyler (LaBeouf), a small-time outlaw on the run, becomes Zak’s unlikely coach and ally. Together they evade capture, drink whiskey, catch fish and convince Eleanor (Dakota Johnson) to join them.
The beautifully depicted film, which also stars veterans Bruce Dern, Jon Bernthal and Thomas Haden Church, had its world premiere at South by Southwest in 2019 and was given a limited theatrical release in the U.S. It went on to become a sleeper hit, grossing over $23 million, making it the highest grossing independent film of the year, and received praise from critics for its charming, warm and compelling nature. LaBeouf’s chemistries with both newcomer Gottsagen and Johnson leads the way. His individual performance is electric.
1 Honey Boy (2019)
From a screenplay by LaBeouf himself, based on his own experiences, award-winning filmmaker Alma Har’el brings to life a young actor’s stormy childhood and early adult years as he struggles to reconcile with his father through cinema and dreams. Honey Boy fictionalizes LaBeouf’s childhood ascent to stardom and subsequent rehab and recovery. Noah Jupe and Lucas Hedges play different stages of the actor’s career. About working with Hedges, LaBeouf said to Entertainment Weekly:
