Review of Hillbilly Elegy (2020) by Artk — 25 Nov 2020

Amy Adams and Glen Close star in director Ron Howard's adaptation of J.D. Vance's 2016 memoir. Netflix released to the theatre's for a couple of weeks before moving to their platform this week. Glad I waited.

"Hillbilly Elegy" explores J.D. Vance's relationship with his troubled mother (Adams) and her ongoing addiction to heroin and the care of his supportive grandmother (Close). Close is very good in this film (and could be remembered during awards season), but Adams felt "off" in her role. I just didn't feel any empathy for her downward (and overacted) spiral. J.D. (Gabriel Basso) also flatlined here. In a film that's supposed to challenge us on provocative social issues such as welfare, social rot, and the "hillbilly culture", Howard (who I normally love) was probably the wrong director to explore this world. Messages are largely lost and the film is simply a series of vignette's whereby J.D. (now finishing Yale Law School) remembers his troubled childhood. Netflix has a miss here.