Sonny Boy 1989

It's obviously surreal, nuts and fun. We expected that. But I also thought the setting and atmosphere were very effective. I felt like I was almost there with all the weirdos. Unsettling.
Lots of odd moments to enjoy for the sake of twisted entertainment. Like how I somehow found myself laughing at a light domestic violence scene, because of the way it was played and looked. But it was still very horrific and sad as it should be. This is what I really like about the movie. It's got two layers. One one it's surreal, entertaining and fun. One the other it's actually pretty real and has a heart. Just read about simular cases of abuse to the ones in the movie and draw comparisons. It's very sad.
It's not overly weird for the sake of it either. It's not pretentious at all. There's a story to follow and some big characters to follow. Sonny's exploration of the world and his feelings are subtle, meaningful and sometimes funny. Like how he related to the Jesus crucifix. How he gets shot with a dart but is more intrigued with the texture of the darts end.
Watching the violent insane bully father try and mould Sonny Boy was pretty full on. Watching Sonny Boy be abused by everyone for being who he was is tough, but it also felt true to life.
Bad Boy Bubby looks like it took a lot of ideas from this movie. Probably a coincidence. I like both movies.
It's easy to cast this off as just a bizarre movie experience to watch with some mates, but it's more. Sonny, after everything, still loved his father. How did he survive the fire? Remember one act of cruelty? Pearl really was a loving mother despite being a man and useless. Sonny boy was the best son they could create in their image, and shaped with pain because that's all they knew. Very savage.
This movie mixes light and dark well. It's like a real abuse story, emotions and all, presented as trashy fun. Everyone played their part really well.