J.D. Vance has a story to tell – his own. Many would call it a rags to riches story, or perhaps a successful escape from an impoverished childhood; director Ron Howard and the movie studio went with “inspiring true story” but all of these seem slightly condescending. Vance himself went with “elegy,” a tribute to the place he came from and perhaps a lament to its end.
Older J.D. (Gabriel Basso) has overcome some rather humble beginnings to attend law school at Yale. It’s interview week, especially crucial to him because even with financial aid and 3 jobs he can’t afford next semester’s tuition without a summer internship. Meeting prospective employers over dinner, he’s overwhelmed by the trappings of etiquette and fine dining that seem to come so easily to others. It’s clear he doesn’t feel he belongs, and a phone call from back home only cements it. It’s his sister, Lindsay (Haley Bennett), calling to say that mom Bev (Amy Adams) is in the hospital. Again. A heroin overdose. His help is needed, urgently.
Over the next 24 hours of trying to install Bev in yet another rehab manage a facility despite Bev having let her insurance lapse, J.D. is flooded with difficult memories from his challenging childhood.
Critics have been plenty harsh about Hillbilly Elegy, and I can appreciate their concerns. It delivers heavily on the Oscar bait melodrama, and instead of inspiring important conversations about cultural and economic gaps, it’s got some pretty soft platitudes instead of real insight. Not that a Netflix movie was going to solve the wage gap or cure the generational impacts of trauma.
No one can deny that Glenn Close and Amy Adams give everything to their roles. Close manages a bark that bites, with just a nibble of vulnerability, a terrific performance that just doesn’t have anywhere to go, there’s no arc, it’s mostly just an act of observation. Amy Adams’ character, on the other hand, is more like a series of attacks. She gnarls and gnashes her teeth and we get small glimpses or what triggers her explosions, but it’s not enough to piece together something truly satisfying. The characters lack insight and we can only guess that this cycle will be very hard to break.
Still looks like shit with Amy and Glenn becoming extremely desperate to get Oscar nods as they end up getting a shot at the Razzies. Glenn needs to stop. She’s becoming pathetic.
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Where has Ron Howard’s directing skills vanished into? He has clearly lost his mojo….
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Wow. Harsh. I’ll have to check it out for myself. Is it possible Amy Adams has made a dud?
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This sounds like a viewing that requires a bit of alcohol first.
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I don’t drink but could start if I have to watch this one. 🙂
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I’ve been hearing about this. Still not sure I want to see it.
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I couldn’t get past the first half hour (and yes, I have read the book). The clichés were delivered with a sledgehammer…what? There’s more than one type of white wine? And I saw the which-silverware-to-use (as the fish out if water trope) coming from a mile away. Good acting, bad script.
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It’s interesting to hear your thoughts as I came across a brief and brutal review of it in the paper the other day. It was something like ‘if you’ve never read the book, then watch the film first because it’ll do you a favour by making absolutely sure you never read the book’… I guess they weren’t fans of either. It’s nice to see Glenn Close back though.x
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I usually try to give all movies the benefit of the doubt but I’m struggling to find anyone who enjoyed this! I really love Amy Adams though so she might be the only hook for me.
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