'Hillbilly Elegy' A Review

Hillbilly Elegy is a drama based on the memoir of the same name. The movie follows JD(Gabriel Basso as older, Owen Asztalos as younger) as he struggles with his family situation and attempts to bootstrap himself into prosperity.

Both Basso and Asztalos are either miscast or lacking in ability. Neither presents credible human performances, perhaps the fault is from the script and source material, its as if the life of JD is romanticized, his memory polished and performed not for the purposes of truth but to convey a particularly crafted(and unbelievable) story. Amy Adams as JD's opiate addicted and abusive mother Bev struggles, a rarity for her, as the character is underwritten and the story never takes the time to really address the cycle of abuse or the real despair or cause of addiction. Glenn Close as JD's grandmother fairs better, but even she cannot transcend the fact the script is not a human story but a web of archetypes retroactively varnished to fill the particular origin story JD the person wants to telegraph. The other characters are mere set dressing- Freida Pinto as Usha JD's girlfriend and Haley Bennett as Lindsay JD's sister particularly are given short shrift.

Filmed mostly in Georgia visually it suffices but for a movie so supposedly centered on a particular region and culture it seems like an oversight. The score is maddeningly present, cacophonous telegraphing every syrupy sweet moment or thundering the anguish onscreen. It is beyond distracting, it is atrocious, paired with the performances it renders the movie farcical. 

There are substantial problems here- the characters seem to face their problems with an obstinacy and ignorance that make them unsympathetic, hillbilly culture is given lipservice but not really explored, examined, or shown in any meaningful way, JD himself is pretty shitty to his family and his girlfriend, none of the characters seem to learn anything or transform in any way. So the question is why? And the only answer is that the book on which the movie is based was a best seller. More universally the movie attempts to make this story of poverty and struggle singular when in fact it is universal. Instead of trying to communicate how universal the fight for security and success is they attempt to convey how different this group and situation is when in fact it is anything but. All types of people are affected by addiction, by poverty, by abuse, by circumstance. And in not taking into account this fact they miss the whole point, rendering Hillbilly Elegy not only ineffective but borderline incomprehensible.

A startlingly huge miss, obtuse farce, with the melodrama of a soap opera but without any of the fun.

Currently streaming on Netflix.

Don't See It.