The Devil All The Time

[wilder]

In Knockemstiff, Ohio and its neighboring backwoods, sinister characters — an unholy preacher (Robert Pattinson), twisted couple (Jason Clarke and Riley Keough), and crooked sheriff (Sebastian Stan) — converge around young Arvin Russell (Tom Holland) as he fights the evil forces that threaten him and his family. Spanning the time between World War II and the Vietnam war, director Antonio Campos' THE DEVIL ALL THE TIME renders a seductive and horrific landscape that pits the just against the corrupted. Co-starring Bill Skarsgård, Mia Wasikowska, Harry Melling, Haley Bennett, and Pokey Lafarge, this suspenseful, finely-woven tale is adapted from Donald Ray Pollock's award-winning novel.

Directed by Antonio Campos (Christine)
Release Date - September 16th on Netflix

[jenkins]

you know the year Christine came out i was whatever about it but now suddenly i'm wanting to see it

maybe it's related to this is an Ohio movie. Christine Chubbuck was born/bred in Ohio btw. Antonio Campos was not born in Ohio but he's adapting a novel by someone who was. Donald Ray Pollock grew up in, well i'll be, that's a real name of a place, Knockemstiff, Ohio, which i'd never heard of despite it in fact being quite close to where i grew up

[wilder]

Bruno Dumont's The Life of Jesus (1997):

[jenkins]

from Empire (UK)

A mixed bag of bones and bodies, whose Southern Gothic atmosphere and superb performances — from Holland especially — are let down by the film's lack of narrative focus.

from The Globe and Mail (Canada)

The result is that the particularly cruel delights of Pollock's writing get lost in an adaptation that can never nail any of its sprawling cast of characters, or escape the Southern-fried clichés that the novel transcends.

ohio is of course not in the south. this atmosphere is appalachia in the midwest. northern ohio is industrial, part of the rust belt, while southern ohio is so appalachian that other countries confuse it for southern america

i once had a longer post that was a more thorough reply to metacritic quotes about this movie, but now i don't have that post and i have just this post

[jenkins]

Antonio Campos Talks The Challenges Of Making 'The Devil All The Time' [Interview]

Authenticity in period and setting seems essential to this and so far away from the people involved in making it so how do you work to achieve that?

One, the accents – getting really good references for the accents, which came from Don Pollock himself and people Don knew. It was very important that there were subtle differences between the way someone like Sandy might speak vs. someone like Hank. That there was a difference between [the film's settings] Knockemstiff and Meade, and that the way someone in West Virginia sounded was different than Southern Ohio. There was a different music. The dialogue coach, Rick Tipton, and I spent a lot of time figuring out what those things were, and he spent a lot of time with each actor to nail that down. And then you continue the process of finetuning that in post.

And then in terms of place – I went with Don and visited Knockemstiff. I traveled to West Virginia from Southern Ohio, and I tried to absorb as much as I could. And also go to the book. And the reality is that you have to deal with the locations that you see in real life. Luckily, we found some really special locations, but it took time. We shot in Northern Alabama.

so funny enough it's a midwestern film shot in the south. but again i'd like to state that the midwest is different from the south. it might sound like the south, and actually be shot in the south, but if it's the midwest it's the midwest and not the south

[Jeremy Blackman]

I have not yet seen this film, but I love Robert Pattinson so much...

[jenkins]

there's no shock that it's noticeable

"With a cast so large and so consistently good, it's nearly impossible to single out more than a few players, though it's maybe most gratifying to see Holland so far from Peter Parker mode; his performance is delicately underplayed, which is not a claim Pattinson can probably make with a straight face."

[Jeremy Blackman]

Just watched a scene and he actually seems to be taking it quite seriously and fits right in. His accent no more southern than Holland's.

[jenkins]

i think the point of contention is person v performance

[jenkins]

you know this year movies are slim pickings so it's not up against a lot but this is an accomplished movie that's the best movie i've seen from the five or so movies i've seen from this year. Holland brings it and Pattinson is the thinnest character but he contributes to an overall depth as in he contributes to Holland. the vo from the author is mad chill and Lol Crawley is the Sean Bobbitt of now

[Shughes]

I loved this. Some very strong performances and great cinematography.

Reviews have been lukewarm but the main issue seems to be that people prefer the novel. Having never read the source novel, and so judging the film solely on its own merits, I'd say this is a fine piece of work and I'd recommend it.