Review of Hillbilly Elegy (2020) by Thewaffle — 27 Nov 2020
It's not "the worst movie ever" as some critics have claimed. But I think this story deserved a better film. The book is an excellent memoir of life amidst poverty, drug abuse, and self-destructive behavior. I find the book and film's moralizing pretty repugnant, since both glorify plenty of violence in service of "protecting the family name," but it is interesting to read that perspective.
Unfortunately, while the book is chronological, the film skips back and forth without any real cohesive structure. Instead of sequential chapters in JD's life, the film just skips around to different terrible moments in his life: his grandfather's death, his mom's suicide attempt, overdose, his mom yelling at him for no reason, etc. Instead of telling JD's story (he seems to have been fully grown up at the age of 12), the film just revels in his mother's most awful moments. Instead of jump-cutting around, I would have preferred to see why she behaved so terribly, what led her to pain and drugs and overdosing.
It's not bad, but it's not very good.
This review of Hillbilly Elegy (2020) was written by Thewaffle on 27 Nov 2020.
Hillbilly Elegy has generally received positive reviews.
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