Joe Bell

Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Reid Miller, Connie Britton, Maxwell Jenkins, Gary Sinise, Morgan Lilly
Directed by: Reinaldo Marcus Green
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
2021

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Based on the true story of Joe Bell (Mark Wahlberg) who decides to walk across America after his son (Reid Miller) is bullied for being gay.

Review:

Tim: Reinaldo Marcus Green has been an intriguing young director who has put together an early but impressive filmography. Joe Bell falls very much in line with the kind of films he's directed. It delivers a powerful message of acceptance and reminds audiences that marginalized people are often treated horribly by individuals throughout society. This movie is worth seeing for the message alone. The film itself has some flaws, unfortunately. I thought the movie was decent, but I struggled to stay focused on it at times. The message is great, but the characterization of the people it's depicting left a lot to be desired. I found myself feeling flat watching this movie. It didn't grab audiences, never felt compelling enough.

It's incredible to learn about the true story that this film is based upon. I'd never heard about Joe Bell or his family, so I appreciated getting to see this man depicted on screen. The movie is sure to let us know Bell is a complicated, flawed person. He's far from perfect, even during his renowned walk, even after his insightful personal transformation. I always appreciate when real people are portrayed with some level of complexity. There's very few saints walking the Earth- even people doing good have their own issues. This film puts that on display. The story itself is mildly entertaining. The script throws in a few interesting curve balls- it's really ideal to go into this film knowing as little as possible about Bell. That's the way I did it and I had several surprises along the way. This might all be interesting, but Green's film is never as powerful, emotional, or compelling as it could be. Contrast this with Palmer, a film that tackled a similar subject. I felt like the emotional connection was much more powerful in that film than this one.

Mark Wahlberg is solid in the lead role. I thought this was an interesting role for him to take and certainly speaks to his own growth and development as a human being. He gives a good performance- sometimes it still surprises me that Wahlberg has transformed himself into a fairly talented actor, but his acting chops are on display here. He delivers a memorable performance filled with emotion. While I never quite loved his character, I appreciated the effort he put to bring this guy to life on the screen. Reid Miller was decent as his son, but it did feel like his performance was a bit one-dimensional. I don't feel like I truly knew Jadin, outside of his being gay and horribly harassed by a bunch of awful people. Connie Britton was solid, she at least gets a few nice scenes. I loved seeing Gary Sinise pop up- it's been a long time since I saw him on screen. As you might expect, he delivers the most powerful performance of the film. Oh, it's all in quiet and subtle ways, but the movie feels differently the moment Sinise comes on screen. As a whole, the cast was good- the supporting cast might have felt a bit weak, but it works more often than it doesn't.

I was never bored with Joe Bell, but I was as fixated on Green's storytelling than I was on the characters and their own stories. The movie doesn't quite drag, but it meanders along a bit too slowly from beginning to end. Not a whole lot actually happens in the story- the many flashbacks take up a good bit of the short 1 hour, 34 minute run time. We get to see Jadin's story and we get to see Wahlberg walking. The telling of this true story is worth it and I'd certainly recommend this movie for its message. It's not quite as entertaining as it wishes it would be. This is the kind of film I'll probably remember for the real story- oh, Joe Bell? Yeah, about the guy who walked across America to speak out against bullying. If you asked me a year from now to recount anything else about this movie, I doubt I'll be able to come up with much. It's the kind of film you watch but it never gets its hooks into you. It doesn't hold you riveted, the story kind of washes over you. That's too bad, because Jadin and Joe Bell deserved an even more powerful film than we actually got.

Joe Bell is a decent drama and I do love that it highlighted real people and serves as a reminder than marginalized people are human beings and we all need to do better. There's way too much hate and bigotry in the world. Tragedies will continue to occur, Jadins will continue to feel isolated and hated, if we don't change how we raise our kids, if we don't change the worldviews of our schools and communities. So yes, Joe Bell is worth watching for those reminders. As a movie, though, it isn't good enough.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Mud, Palmer, Joe, Monster and Men, King Richard, The Lovely Bones