Antonio Campos’ new Netflix film, The Devil All the Time, can be called many things; but subtle is not one of them. There are not many words in the English language to quantify the insanity of this picture. Truly, the most accurate description is that all 138 minutes are completely bonkers. This multi-generataional epic follows the lives of several families connected to Knockemstiff, Ohio from the mid-1940’s to the 1960’s. Based on the highly acclaimed 2011 novel by Donald Ray Pollock with a cast filled to the brim with some of the most talented actors currently working, there didn’t seem to be much that could go wrong translating this story to screen. However, something went unfortunately askew along the way.
Creating any film that spans over twenty years is a feat in and of itself. Some say that stories of this magnitude are better left for mini-series or multi-seasonal television shows. While there are some films that do a phenomenal job of encapsulating such an epoch in just a few hours, I have to agree that Devil All the Time is one that probably could have used at least a couple of episodes. In order to accommodate the film’s numerous sub-plots, a somewhat confusing non-linear timeline, (that doesn’t seem to add anything in particular) as opposed to a chronological approach, is used. This renders the audience feeling disoriented and the plot feeling unfocused. One moment, a new character will be introduced and we will be given a peak into their central conflict, only for them to vanish suddenly. There were numerous moments where I would find myself reflecting back on previous events in the film and thinking, “Hmmm, they were set up to be a pretty major part of the story but it doesn’t seem like we’re going to be hearing from them again any time soon.”
If there is one thing that The Devil All the Time has in spades, it’s a wealth of interesting characters. At least, they seem like they could have evolved into interesting characters had they been given time to evolve in their respective plot lines. This was the most disappointing part of having squished a sprawling epoch into a 2 hour and 18 minute runtime. Nearly every character came across as being extremely one note. The sub-plots that some were involved in seemed shallow and nonsensical in the broader scope of the film because they were not character driven whatsoever. There appears to be one main plot following Tom Holland’s character, Arvin Russel; but it is so often diverted from for large swathes of time in favor of other characters’ ventures. To be fair, this is ostensibly meant to build upon Arvin’s story, but it actually takes away from the character more than anything else.
Unfortunately, because of the disjointed plot, the unifying thread that was implemented to try to pull this whole feature together was a dry voiceover narrator. Every once in a while, this voice would pipe in over the action to serve one of two functions; to provide drawling exposition dumps and to spoil climactic action sequences. Personally, narrators are one of my least favorite plot devices. Sometimes they are implemented in a way that serves the film tonally (i.e., Fight Club), but most of the time I find myself wishing that the film had gone on uninterrupted and found another way to present that information in a way that felt more engrained. It is a classic example of the cardinal sin of creative writing; telling and not showing. I don’t want to say that it’s a cop out… but it feels like a cop out.
Having a narrator in such a serious, borderline noir film, detracts detrimentally from the tone. Films like this should be able to stand on their own. The audience should be able to discern the characters motivation and internal conflicts without having an omniscient presence feeling they have to spoon feed it to them. The serendipitous theme should not be shoved directly down the audience’s throat. It was very much akin to the way that children’s movies often have a moment where one of the characters explicitly states the moral of the story. But, the big difference is that those are made for children whose critical thinking skills aren’t exactly up to scratch yet. This film is basically the polar opposite of being made for children. The cherry on top of all of this is that the narrator is actually a source of wry humor throughout; a stark contrast to the flat out grim events that characterize the entire story. In summation, this was just one of those things that did not work at all for this film.
What definitely did work about this film is the all star cast that is able to salvage an otherwise bleak cinematic experience. The level of talent present in each and every one of these actors and actresses is dizzying. This film was made watchable, and even somewhat exciting by the performances delivered by (bear with me for this long list): Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Sebastian Stan, Riley Keough, Jason Clarke, Bill Skarsgård, Eliza Scanlen (who is having an amazing year following her breakout role in Little Women), Haley Bennett, Mia Wasikowska, and Harry Melling. I cannot heap enough praise upon this cast; they are truly this film’s saving grace. Each delivers an electric performance even despite the flatness that defines many of their characters. Relative newcomers such as Eliza Scanlen and Haley Bennett hold their own flawlessly with the likes of Robert Pattinson and Mia Wasikowska who have spent years in the spotlight. I offer bravos and bravas to each and every one of them.
I would be remiss to say that I didn’t find myself somewhat invested in this film. There are clearly many aspects that I take issue with – perhaps because I have been anxiously awaiting this film’s release for a while – but it was still entertaining throughout if you are able to suspend your disbelief and pocket any smaller qualms until after the movie ends. The Devil All the Time is now streaming on Netflix and is a good distraction for these chaotic times we live in. Stay safe out there, everyone.
3/5 STARS