Movie Review - The Devil All the Time

This is the adaptation of the 2011 debut novel by Donald Ray Pollock. The novel follows Pollock's collection of short stories called Knockemstiff (2008), which are based on Pollock's experiences growing up in Knockemstiff, Ohio. Pollock's fiction has been described as "Hillbilly Gothic." Gothic fiction is a type of horror that focuses on crime and the darker acts of humanity, such as murder and ensuing mayhem. It just so happens that this horror centers on people who live in the rural area in and around Appalachia. Directed and co-written by Antonio Campos (Christine and Simon Killer), the film captures that Hillbilly Gothic rather well. It's a film that could exist in the same universe as Netflix's Ozark, except Campos' film takes place from 1945 to 1965, more capturing the era that was Pollock's childhood. Pollock himself is the narrator pointing out insights into the thoughts and feelings of the characters caught in this era and area, which other than Hillbilly Gothic could be seen as a kind of dark and gritty, slightly modern Western.

Essentially, Campos is weaving together an ensemble production where if you didn't see any of the marketing, you wouldn't guess who the protagonist or protagonists are. We basically follow two families who mostly live separate existences but whose lineage crosses paths a couple of times. As we follow these two families, Campos jumps from one man's point-of-view in one of the families to another. We jump from man to man over the course of 20 years that it starts to feel as though there is no protagonist. It feels as if the film is more about the place and certain personal dynamics than it is about any one or two particular people. A unifying factor is that of religion and faith. Another unifying factor is that of violence and murder, as the film attempts to explore like a series of dominoes falling how one violent or even murderous act can lead to another or how it can infect or be passed along like a virus. In some instances, it could be deemed "toxic masculinity the movie" or it could also be the film trying to prove, as well as disprove, the notion of "no good sons of bitches out there."

Tom Holland (Spider-Man: Homecoming and The Impossible) stars as Arvin Russell, a teenager living in Knockemstiff, Ohio. However, when we meet him as a young man, he's living in what's called Coal Creek, West Virginia, which is about four hours southeast. He's living in West Virginia with his grandparents and his adopted sister, Lenora. We don't meet Arvin as a young man until about 50 minutes into the film. Yet, he's arguably the protagonist or at least the one that dominates the second-half of the film. His adopted sister, though not related by blood, also comes from Knockemstiff. How or why both Arvin and Lenora come to live with Arvin's grandparents in West Virginia is the focus of the first hour, which is a sordid series of events, involving religiosity leading to murder.

For Arvin, it's about a boy reconciling the lessons his father taught him. It's about a boy absorbing those lessons and enacting them. Those lessons often center on how one reacts to the world and people in it who offend or hurt those you love. How one reacts or how one responds always involve exacting some kind of physical revenge, inflicting pain or even deadly retribution. What's strange or perhaps hypocritical is that these lessons come from Arvin's father who in many respects built his own church in the woods or he specifically established a spot in the forest with a Christian symbol where he would lead his son to pray. Often, those prayers would be quite aggressive, which in the moment feels contradictory in tone to the Christian messages of love and forgiveness.

Sebastian Stan (I, Tonya and Captain America: The Winter Soldier) co-stars as Lee Bodecker, a Sheriff's deputy in Ohio who plans to run as a candidate in an upcoming election. Yet, he's a corrupt political figure. He's a cop but he has dirty dealings with criminals, specifically a crime lord named Leroy in the area who seems to deal with prostitution and possibly other things. Lee is beholden to this guy probably because this crime lord has helped him politically or financially. Lee is also beholden because it seems as if Lee's sister works for Leroy and has dirt on her that could ruin his life.

As mentioned, the two families that this film follows is Arvin Russell's family and Lee Bodecker's family or familial relations. We then see how the Russell family and the Bodecker family cross paths. They specifically cross paths in three distinct ways, but neither family really knows one another. Neither family socializes or attend the same church. For most of it, Arvin is living in West Virginia and Lee is living in Ohio, so there aren't many opportunities for their paths to cross, but Campos' film feels intent to build to those intersections. However, the film's balance is more tipped toward the Russell family, almost to the point that you forget that the Bodecker family is even a factor. The Bodecker family just stands as a looming, but unknown threat.

Robert Pattinson (Tenet and The Lighthouse) also co-stars as Preston Teagardin, a reverend in West Virginia, a young man who takes over a small church near where Arvin and Lenora live. He too comes to represent a threat. He represents how someone can use religion or the church to exploit people in order to get what he wants, whether it's food or affection. He also represents how men have power, especially over women to control, dominate and even destroy women's lives, often with not much more than using words. He also represents an easy villain in this narrative.

One could see this as a neo-western or a western set in modern or contemporary times, such as the mid-20th century and forward. It could be that Campos is going for something in the vein of No Country for Old Men (2007) or the more recent El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (2019). Yet, Campos' tone is even darker and grittier than either of those. However, I would compare Arvin's character as being akin to the protagonist in El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie, in that Arvin is a lovable outlaw, on the run, not necessarily due to moral failings or a penchant for crime. He was raised a certain way that pushed him to certain choices, but the point is to be underscored that he's not a bad person. His bad acts are aligned with defending someone he loves or simply defending himself. The former compels him to cross a legal line, but he's not bad, which is an interesting point. It's unfortunate that many of the other characters don't get that kind of complexity.

Rated R for violence, disturbing/bloody images, sexual content, graphic nudity and language.
Running Time: 2 hrs. and 18 mins.

Available on Netflix.