The Devil All the Time

Starring: Tom Holland, Bill Skarsgard, Robert Pattinson, Sebastian Stan, Riley Keough, Jason Clarke, Haley Bennett, Mia Wasikowska, Eliza Scanlen
Directed by: Antonio Campos
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Thriller
2020

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A number of flawed characters converge in a small backwoods community.

Review:

Tim: In 2020, good things are hard to come by. So many movies got pushed back. Because of that, The Devil All the Time took on increased importance. In another year, I might have skipped this movie altogether. I did catch it and while it didn't do enough to change anything about this year, it was at least a solid, entertaining movie. It has some flaws, but it was good. I'll take anything good this year, so I do consider this a win.

The appeal (and one of the flaws) about this movie is its brutality. There's so little light in this movie, so little to feel good about. It certainly does feel like the devil's work is being done, literally all the time. Every time a character is introduced, you can assume they will go through something incredibly painful. On the one hand, this is fascinating. You get to watch these characters suffer, to experience horrific things. It does help you to understand the characters at a deep level. There's merit in that. On the other hand, it does feel like a lot. You almost don't want to build a connection with the characters because you know bad things are going to happen, and they might end up dead. It gives the movie a strange quality- you almost don't want to watch, but can't quite look away. I do thing this was executed well, but not perfectly.

Antonio Campos does a good job directing this film. He balances multiple characters, myriad subplots, and manages to tie it all together. I hadn't seen anything else Campos has done. While this is still an early career movie of his, it did have a sense of lived-in experience that helped. He comes across as a confident filmmaker, which helps. His movie is a bit too long- at 2 hours, 18 minutes, it does get to be a bit of a drag. I would have preferred a more focused movie, maybe 13 minutes shorter. That would have helped make the movie feel less of a drag. As is, I'm glad I watched this movie, but I shudder to think about going through that experience again. Campos makes a movie that certainly feels like a "one and done".

The cast is really good. I'm not even sure where to start because each felt like they got their own story and while they interconnect, each role felt important. That's rare in ensemble movies like that. I'll start with Tom Holland. I really like Holland and was again impressed with his performance here. He isn't an imposing figure, but he makes an outsized impact. He has this everyman quality that was ideal for a movie like this. We haven't often seen him play roles like this- he doesn't escape the brutality of the movie. It was refreshing to see him here- he's able to leverage his strengths and play a character we like, but he also has a darker edge to him that was required for the movie. It was nice seeing Bill Skarsgard here. While I'm most familiar with his work as Pennywise in the two It movies, he's more than a fearful clown. I thought he gave a strong performance here. He's somewhat restrained in his performance, but he gets in under your skin. There's things you appreciate about his character, but he's certainly not blameless. He is part of several of the most memorable scenes in the movie (the diner scenes, the fighting lesson scene, etc.)

Robert Pattinson bothered me to a certain extent. I've been singing his praises in recent years- the Twilight days feel far behind him and he's done some exceptional work lately. I thought his performance here was okay. The voice was absolutely odd, but his character worked more often than he didn't. It was somewhat difficult to see him in this role, but I applaud him for playing this difficult, different character. Sebastian Stan was playing against type here, too. I was impressed with his weight gain for the role. He gave a complex performance that made you question what you thought about his character. I felt like I could never fully pin him down. Jason Clarke and Riley Keough made a great pair. I've enjoyed both of their performances in recent years and this is another effective turn. Haley Bennett has surprised me lately- she's been fairly solid a number of times. You can add this one to the mix, she's enjoyable here and while she only has a small role, it's an effective one. I'm not a fan of Mia Wasikowska. She was solid here, but didn't do much to change my opinion of her. You have to applaud this cast. As a whole, it features quite a few talented individuals and they give strong performances here. If you need one reason to see this movie, the cast is definitely it.

I did enjoy The Devil All the Time. It's a brutal movie in many ways, but it shines a light on people and a lifestyle not often depicted on screen. It's a movie that might be hard to watch, but it does stay with you after the credits roll. Netflix deserves a lot of criticism for the slew of substandard action movies they've been schlepping, but this is a win for the streaming platform.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



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