Opinions are beginning to trickle out of Cannes for Leo Lewis O’Neil’s documentary Slauson Rec, a late entry to the pageant that chronicles the disturbing occasions inside an appearing faculty run by Shia LaBeouf. Held on the Slauson Recreation Heart in South Central Los Angeles, LaBeouf’s workshops happened on Saturdays from 2018 till they fizzled out throughout the pandemic. Whereas the college could have been well-intentioned, early opinions recommend the documentary is simply as a lot about LaBeouf’s private unraveling throughout what was arguably probably the most tumultuous interval of his life.
In 2018, LaBeouf put out a name for actors concerned with becoming a member of an appearing undertaking he was launching at Slauson Rec. Leo Lewis O’Neil was one of many contributors, and with LaBeouf’s blessing, he documented LaBeouf’s “strategies.”
Over two and a half hours, O’Neil’s footage captures LaBeouf berating college students, instigating a fistfight with a scholar who give up out of frustration, and wreaking emotional havoc that Variety describes as bordering “on the inhumane.”
“It’s an limitless loop of rage and remorse, which triggered almost 30 viewers members to trickle out of the auditorium throughout the screening,” wrote Selection in its assessment.
Rolling Stone’s evaluation was even harsher:
“Documenting how LaBeouf’s rising impatience with the group finally led to biblical rage spirals, bodily assaults, and a few really Grade-A asshole habits, it paints a really terrifying image of its topic. Even when O’Neil alerts this can be a work of affection for his outdated mentor, LaBeouf nonetheless comes off like a monster. Those that care to bask within the Shia-denfreude of seeing extra proof of his nastiness introduced to the general public can be in heaven. The remainder of us are merely pressured to observe between our fingers because the celebrity-driven automotive wrecks maintain getting exponentially worse.”
Each opinions describe one significantly unsettling account of a younger girl who was so afraid of being fired for lacking rehearsals that she skipped time together with her ailing mom. When she attended her mom’s funeral, LaBeouf fired her after operating strains with one other actor he deemed higher.
The documentary additionally captures the environment throughout the Slauson Rec Theater Firm, which is described as having a “Kool-Assist-sipping cult” vibe. Regardless of the brutal meltdowns and emotional chaos, a lot of LaBeouf’s college students remained devoted, shopping for into his imaginative and prescient of a “inventive church” that aimed to interrupt creative boundaries, at the same time as LaBeouf’s habits grew extra unpredictable and violent.
Not solely did LaBeouf give O’Neil permission to make the documentary, however he additionally appeared at Cannes alongside him for its debut — LaBeouf’s first time seeing the movie. Within the movie’s ultimate moments, O’Neil visits LaBeouf for a form of postmortem interview. LaBeouf calls his willingness to permit the documentary’s launch “the last word advantage sign.” However LaBeouf additionally admits, as he chokes again tears, that he owes apologies. The doc obtained a two-minute standing ovation, which, to be trustworthy, doesn’t appear that spectacular for Cannes.
Supply: Rolling Stone, Variety