Hillbilly Elegy (2020)

Directed by Ron Howard. Starring Gabriel Basso, Amy Adams, Owen Asztalos, Glenn Close, Haley Bennett, Frieda Pinto, Bo Hopkins, Stephen Kunken, Jesse C. Boyd, Keong Sim. [R]

Appalachian-bred Yale law student J. D. Vance (Basso) returns home upon learning that his mom (Adams) recently overdosed, which gives him time to contemplate his upbringing in “hill country” through frequent flashbacks to his time spent living with her and his “Mamaw” (Close). Ill-considered adaptation of Vance’s best-selling memoir is a dodgy brand of melodrama that can’t decide if it wants to be feel-good or harrowing, winds up in a puddle of maudlin theatrics and showy character work, constantly reinforcing stereotypes instead of trying to find the nuance (and perhaps even humanity) behind them. Adams and Close chomp down hard on their mannered “descents” into clichés of poverty, addiction, and tight-jawed conservatism, while the central role is a dull and reactionary one—it’s well into the film before teenage J. D. finally gets more than just two character traits: clumsy oaf and abuse victim. Ron Howard, who typically has the visual instincts of a journeyman director, goes for broke here with bothersome camera pans and restless subject size swaps without logic or dramatic purpose (blame could be shared with his editor and director of photography if it’s a case of simply not reining them in). Also plagued by senseless pop music cues and a couple of egregiously cloying montages towards the end, including one that shows the protagonist abruptly improving his grades and getting a part-time job after sharing a Meals on Wheels with Mamaw. The accuracy of this way of life (and the stock characters populating it) is debatable, to be sure, but a complete lack of ambition on the filmmakers’ part to be provocative or thoughtful about the subject dooms this banal family saga.

31/100