The Devil All The Time
Starring: Tom Holland, Bill Skarsgard, Sebastian Stan, Riley Keough, Eliza Scanlan, Robert Pattinson
Directed By: Antonio Campos
Rated: R
If you were looking for a little depression to add to your weekend, Netflix has you covered. The Devil All The Time is a sprawling southern gothic generational tale following several interweaving storylines in the post World War II Midwest. The film explores themes of generational violence, toxic religion, and corruption. Based on the novel of the same name, The Devil All The Time is clearly a literary adaption brought to life with its narrative structure and cast of characters. Some of the time that works, and some of the time, you wish the narrator would shut up and let you watch the movie.
It’s difficult to explain this film considering there are so many characters and plots, but I’ll do the best that I can. World War II veteran Willard (Bill Skarsgard) marries Charlotte (Haley Bennett), and the two have a son, Arvin. Willard is haunted by PTSD and continually prays that the trauma from the war will leave him. When Arvin is a child, a tragedy strikes at home, leaving him in the care of his grandma, uncle, and step-sister Leonore (Eliza Scanlen).
As Arvin (Tom Holland) grows up, his path intersects with seedy, violent characters, including the corrupt town sheriff (Sebastian Stan), Sandy and Carl (the town’s twisted Bonny and Clyde), and Preston Teagardin (Robert Pattinson), a sleazy preacher.
Director Antonio Campos is no stranger to a dark narrative. His last film Christine was the upsetting true story of the 1980’s news reporter who killed herself on air. Campos is back again with another very dark film. Although the cast of actors will draw in many viewers, you should think before watching this. This is a really heavy film tackling pedophilia, suicide, PTSD, and murder. I understand the tone is meant to showcase the characters are awful, corrupt hypocrites, but it got to a point where I had to take a break and come back to finish it. Campos’ directorial vision for the film reminded me of There Will Be Blood in some scenes. It’s hard not to draw a comparison between Pattinson’s Preston Teagardin and Paul Dano’s Eli Sunday.
(Pattinson does a full 180 from what audiences just saw in Tenet portraying a hypocritical preacher who preys on young girls. He adopts an accent that is entirely unrecognizable and makes the audience feel uncomfortable every time he’s on screen.)
Admittedly the film does have some interesting takes on the cyclical patterns of the family dynamic. Arvin and Willard both want to protect their families but have a violent streak that they can’t seem to escape. Both Tom Holland and Bill Skarsgard stand out as two of the strongest performances in the film. This is a departure from Holland’s more recent big-screen performances as Peter Parker, and he‘s up for the challenge. He showcases the struggle of trying to be a good man while fighting for the ones he loves. He’s not a cut and dry protagonist, but he’s the closest thing this movie has to one. Familial trauma runs deep throughout this film, and the storyline seems to insinuate that violence is almost inherited.
I wish we had more background about some of the characters in the movie. So many of them are either awful people for the sake of being evil or one-dimensional wives/mothers. There’s no background. When you have a supporting cast list that includes Sebastian Stan, Mia Wasikowska, Jason Clarke, Riley Keough, Eliza Scanlen, and Haley Bennett, they should have more to do. I felt like I knew next to nothing about the characters in this movie except for Tom Holland, Bill Skarsgard, and Robert Pattinson.
Some of the filmmaking decisions made are flat out confusing. All of the film is narrated by an unseen man. That’s a big mistake. He tells the audience events that happen before they even occur, so the audience loses any emotional connection to the event. One character is seen on screen when the narrator tells us “she died that day.” Twenty minutes later, her death is shown. Show, don’t tell us! It would’ve been so much more shocking and emotional! It’s like this narrator can’t keep secrets. Speaking of technical issues, the film’s editing is rough. It’ll focus on one storyline in the ’50s for 10 minutes. Then go forward to the 60s to Arvin and Leonore’s storyline. Boom, we’re back in the 50s to Willard. After a while, that gets dizzying. Pick a time frame and stick with it. Ultimately, I think there are just too many characters in this story. I appreciate that all the storylines come together at the end, but I could see this working out so much better as a limited series rather than a 2-hour movie.
There are some intriguing ideas presented in The Devil All The Time. Unfortunately, the film bit off more than it could chew due to its staggering number of plotlines. While the film boasts an impressive cast, this is like watching an endless parade of awful events.
My Rating: 5/10