Review of The Devil All the Time (2020) by Simonsrants — 16 Sep 2020

The Devil All the Time - 8/10 (Maybe 7.5, can't honestly decide).

The Devil All the Time reminded me a lot of The Place Between the Pines but darker and more violent - and mixed a little with Lawless. It's a story that tells mirroring story arches of a father (Bill Skarsgard) and his son (Tom Holland); unlike The Place Between the Pines however, the emphasis is put on the son rather than the father which is to the film's detriment a little. Not a lot (see my rating) but I found myself enamored with Skarsgard's performance as well as his plot more than with Holland's acting and plot. Both are good, but I wish the father was more of the focus in the film. But that is only a minor complaint as I enjoyed both parts of the movie.

For the most part the acting is great; Skarsgard especially steals the show but Harry Melling is also surprisingly superb. I say "surprisingly" only because I have not seen him since his turn as Dudley in the Harry Potter franchise and was not aware how talented of an actor he is. Jason Clarke and Sebastian Stan also put in great work and although I am not particularly a fan of Holland or Pattinson's work they were not distracting in their performances. Although, you could argue they were distracting as it was plain they were cast in this film to try to broaden the audience of a film that would likely have been merely a cult classic (and honestly, most likely still will be regardless.).

This film is dark and twisted and certainly will not win any award for "Feel Good Movie of the Year" and is more of a character study. But in all honesty it is not much of a character study either as it remains fairly shallow in its study of the characters. So what is it then? It's a story of what happened between these interconnected characters at this point in time - the writers and director do not tell you what to make of it but instead challenge you to make of it what you will. A strategy that I am intrigued by personally, but rarely works among the masses. At least the general audience members in America.

That is why I deem this movie to be more of a cult classic than a hit with the general public or even critics; from its dark subject matter to slow-burn pacing and lastly its ambiguity it will not draw in a large crowd. But those who are drawn in just might become obsessed with this movie.