"Back Roads" has the feel of a docudrama about a tragic history of family dysfunction. Although it was adapted from a novel that was an Oprah's Book Club selection, there is a "true crime" element to this disturbing drama.
The time is the early 1990s, and the setting is in rural Pennsylvania. For the Altmyers, who reside in a small home in dire need of repairs, the more troubling issue is one of family secrets.
After Mrs. Altmyer is imprisoned for the killing of her husband, young Harley Altmyer is tasked with caring for his three siblings. At the outset, this premise was difficult to believe since Harley and his three sisters were in therapy with a kind psychologist who knew the details of their family history. How was it possible that someone with the instability of Harley could have been allowed by the courts to have custody of his siblings under such hardscrabble conditions?
As the drama unfolds, the family dynamic becomes more explosive when the details about the deceased father emerge. The circumstances of his death are called into question with the admission of the youngest child. It may be that Mrs. Altmyer did not kill her husband and should not be incarcerated.
Another traumatic event awaits the tragic Altmyer family when Harley begins an affair with a neighbor. When she is shot in an old mining shack, Harley confesses to the crime. But the police chief who questions Harley has troubling believing his story. The truth about what actually happened at that shack is explosive and unspeakable.
For those viewers who appreciated the nuances of this film in the area of family dysfunction, an interesting real life tragedy that is pertinent is the O.J. Simpson saga. There is a fascinating book by William Dear entitled "O.J. Is Innocent and I Can Prove It," and it deals with exactly the same dynamic raised in this film. That dynamic is the human reality that a parent will stop at nothing in order to protect one's child. The film opens the floor for debate and reflection on that basic human instinct.
The time is the early 1990s, and the setting is in rural Pennsylvania. For the Altmyers, who reside in a small home in dire need of repairs, the more troubling issue is one of family secrets.
After Mrs. Altmyer is imprisoned for the killing of her husband, young Harley Altmyer is tasked with caring for his three siblings. At the outset, this premise was difficult to believe since Harley and his three sisters were in therapy with a kind psychologist who knew the details of their family history. How was it possible that someone with the instability of Harley could have been allowed by the courts to have custody of his siblings under such hardscrabble conditions?
As the drama unfolds, the family dynamic becomes more explosive when the details about the deceased father emerge. The circumstances of his death are called into question with the admission of the youngest child. It may be that Mrs. Altmyer did not kill her husband and should not be incarcerated.
Another traumatic event awaits the tragic Altmyer family when Harley begins an affair with a neighbor. When she is shot in an old mining shack, Harley confesses to the crime. But the police chief who questions Harley has troubling believing his story. The truth about what actually happened at that shack is explosive and unspeakable.
For those viewers who appreciated the nuances of this film in the area of family dysfunction, an interesting real life tragedy that is pertinent is the O.J. Simpson saga. There is a fascinating book by William Dear entitled "O.J. Is Innocent and I Can Prove It," and it deals with exactly the same dynamic raised in this film. That dynamic is the human reality that a parent will stop at nothing in order to protect one's child. The film opens the floor for debate and reflection on that basic human instinct.