"Family's the only thing that means a goddamn. You'll learn that."
Before I actually get to the review portion, I think it's crucial to discuss the significance of Hillbilly Elegy. I didn't know anything about it till after watching it. The only thing I knew was it's based on a memoir and that there was a bunch of hype around it. The hype I knew about was for awards and all that. Turns out there's much more to this. Hillbilly Elegy is about the "American Dream" and is a voice for Appalachian individuals coming from the point of view of J. D. Vance. Well J. D. Vance has some controversy around him. He has different views than others, is very conservative, and made some comments about Appalachians and how they "talk about working more than they work." He kind of trashed talked the roots where he came from because he built his way up into society. This focuses on both his childhood and his return back home in 2016. His mother struggled with drug addiction which altered his childhood significantly. J. D. worked hard in school, joined the marines, and graduated from Yale law school. Because of his work ethic it's kind of known that he thinks he's above some of these Appalachians who won't achieve the "American Dream." The memoir supposedly discusses themes of the culture of poverty since he grew up in not the greatest conditions. Anyway, that's as much as I know. Some people think this is a great story and some find it offensive. So there was hype for not only awards but for this project in general.
Now that we've covered that, this movie throws all that away. Most everyone, whether you follow movies or not, knows about the scathing reviews this received. I understand that. And Rotten Tomatoes goes by either liking it or hating it. Only 28% actually gave this a positive review. What I'm more focused on is the MetaScore review since it's a most accurate score of every critics review. A 40 is still not great but that makes more sense. Hillbilly Elegy is a mess, but it's not as bad as some of the reviews say it is. Everyone has hype around certain movies. This had a lot going for it. First there's the source material. Then the stacked cast including Amy Adams and Glen Close. Venessa Taylor wrote the screen play who previously was nominated for an Oscar for The Shape of Water. And this seemed to be the comeback movie for Ron Howard who hasn't been consistent, well kind of ever. Rush feels like the last good movie he made. This just isn't it. Mainly due to the poor writing. Venessa Taylor has good moments of writing with some dialogue that could win the actors Oscars, but those moments are only once in a while. Most of it is either basic or cringe-worthy. I feel so bad for Amy Adams because of the writing, but I'll get to that later. The storytelling is inconsistent. Jumping back and forth between past and present can be difficult to get a constant full effect. The present 2016 moments have no effect whatsoever. I felt nothing for these characters at this point. The past scenes have more entertainment value and a more interesting story. There's just never a moment of normalcy. Every scene must have something significant happening where a character has to be demonized. A chance to slow down a breathe never really happens. For those excited for the screenplay, this might be one of the worst of the year.
Remember when I mentioned Amy Adams earlier, now's the time to tackle the acting. Adams doesn't deserve all the hate she's getting for this role. She's being accused of overacting and giving a terrible performance. But when the only scenes she has are her having a meltdown, flailing around, and just being an overall terrible mother it's hard to get to the route of the character. It's not her fault and I do genuinely think she gave an excellent performance, but her chances of an Oscar nomination are basically gone. Then Glen Close. We all thought this would be the year she finally wins her first Oscar. She's extremely overdue and gives a great performance. This just isn't her best ever. Once again the writing is taking those chances away. Close has a transformative performance and gives her all every minute on screen, but to give an Oscar for this performance wouldn't be appropriate. Mamaw is the one who is there to keep J. D. in line when his mother can't do so. But all she does is say stuff like "you need to do better" and "family is all that matters" and "I wasn't always a good person but you can be." There's not a moment to slow down with her. Olivia Colman might win the Oscar over her again. It seems unanimous that Owen Asztalos playing younger J. D. has a better performance than Gabriel Basso who plays him in 2016. Older J. D. is just an asshole to me. I hated him almost every minute. He's so cocky and thinks he's the one who is in charge of this family. I was in utter disbelief at the end of the third act with him. A decision is made that I understand is important to him but no decent person would ever do that. What's even worse is he's painted as a saint because he got everything he wants. If this weren't a true story I think everyone would be so mad at how this ends. Younger J. D. on the other hand gives a more genuine performance and is good. The last person that must be mentioned is Haley Bennett. When will she land a role with a movie that will be appreciated? She great in every role and I actually liked her in this, both acting and character. Even with Swallow and The Devil All the Time (both movies I really enjoyed) those movies have not gained the appreciation needed to have her well known. Good performances by most of the ensemble but can't get to their fullest potential with the bad writing.
Ron Howard just seems to have lost clear direction. Maybe not his worst movie like most are saying but there's a lack of fluid direction. Right away it comes off as a basic movie. Honestly if the writing was just better I still believe this would still be pretty basic. He can get some emotional scenes down. I did feel bad for the situation and wanted everything to get better. And there are some enjoyable and entertaining moments. I didn't find myself hating this. But it's just a disappointment from the some choices made both in the story and a filmmaking standpoint. For example, the past scenes are all in handheld mainly. I felt motion sick at some points. It's a common technique to get more immersed into the story but it was just too much. Also the fact to neglect the whole voice of poverty and all that doesn't help. This might be more of a writing thing but it's those topics aren't discussed as much as they should. I really can't say I hated this. I wanted to finish the movie unlike the other two people in the theater who left halfway through. Hillbilly Elegy is a mess, but it's not a movie to skip completely. It'll be on Netflix soon so you won't be wasting any money. I for one just wanted to see it in theaters while available to me because I'm pretentious. It's a shame that the final product couldn't live up to the hype. To make it quite simple, this is 2020's The Goldfinch: so much hype around to only time get awful reviews and a disappointment.
Before I actually get to the review portion, I think it's crucial to discuss the significance of Hillbilly Elegy. I didn't know anything about it till after watching it. The only thing I knew was it's based on a memoir and that there was a bunch of hype around it. The hype I knew about was for awards and all that. Turns out there's much more to this. Hillbilly Elegy is about the "American Dream" and is a voice for Appalachian individuals coming from the point of view of J. D. Vance. Well J. D. Vance has some controversy around him. He has different views than others, is very conservative, and made some comments about Appalachians and how they "talk about working more than they work." He kind of trashed talked the roots where he came from because he built his way up into society. This focuses on both his childhood and his return back home in 2016. His mother struggled with drug addiction which altered his childhood significantly. J. D. worked hard in school, joined the marines, and graduated from Yale law school. Because of his work ethic it's kind of known that he thinks he's above some of these Appalachians who won't achieve the "American Dream." The memoir supposedly discusses themes of the culture of poverty since he grew up in not the greatest conditions. Anyway, that's as much as I know. Some people think this is a great story and some find it offensive. So there was hype for not only awards but for this project in general.
Now that we've covered that, this movie throws all that away. Most everyone, whether you follow movies or not, knows about the scathing reviews this received. I understand that. And Rotten Tomatoes goes by either liking it or hating it. Only 28% actually gave this a positive review. What I'm more focused on is the MetaScore review since it's a most accurate score of every critics review. A 40 is still not great but that makes more sense. Hillbilly Elegy is a mess, but it's not as bad as some of the reviews say it is. Everyone has hype around certain movies. This had a lot going for it. First there's the source material. Then the stacked cast including Amy Adams and Glen Close. Venessa Taylor wrote the screen play who previously was nominated for an Oscar for The Shape of Water. And this seemed to be the comeback movie for Ron Howard who hasn't been consistent, well kind of ever. Rush feels like the last good movie he made. This just isn't it. Mainly due to the poor writing. Venessa Taylor has good moments of writing with some dialogue that could win the actors Oscars, but those moments are only once in a while. Most of it is either basic or cringe-worthy. I feel so bad for Amy Adams because of the writing, but I'll get to that later. The storytelling is inconsistent. Jumping back and forth between past and present can be difficult to get a constant full effect. The present 2016 moments have no effect whatsoever. I felt nothing for these characters at this point. The past scenes have more entertainment value and a more interesting story. There's just never a moment of normalcy. Every scene must have something significant happening where a character has to be demonized. A chance to slow down a breathe never really happens. For those excited for the screenplay, this might be one of the worst of the year.
Remember when I mentioned Amy Adams earlier, now's the time to tackle the acting. Adams doesn't deserve all the hate she's getting for this role. She's being accused of overacting and giving a terrible performance. But when the only scenes she has are her having a meltdown, flailing around, and just being an overall terrible mother it's hard to get to the route of the character. It's not her fault and I do genuinely think she gave an excellent performance, but her chances of an Oscar nomination are basically gone. Then Glen Close. We all thought this would be the year she finally wins her first Oscar. She's extremely overdue and gives a great performance. This just isn't her best ever. Once again the writing is taking those chances away. Close has a transformative performance and gives her all every minute on screen, but to give an Oscar for this performance wouldn't be appropriate. Mamaw is the one who is there to keep J. D. in line when his mother can't do so. But all she does is say stuff like "you need to do better" and "family is all that matters" and "I wasn't always a good person but you can be." There's not a moment to slow down with her. Olivia Colman might win the Oscar over her again. It seems unanimous that Owen Asztalos playing younger J. D. has a better performance than Gabriel Basso who plays him in 2016. Older J. D. is just an asshole to me. I hated him almost every minute. He's so cocky and thinks he's the one who is in charge of this family. I was in utter disbelief at the end of the third act with him. A decision is made that I understand is important to him but no decent person would ever do that. What's even worse is he's painted as a saint because he got everything he wants. If this weren't a true story I think everyone would be so mad at how this ends. Younger J. D. on the other hand gives a more genuine performance and is good. The last person that must be mentioned is Haley Bennett. When will she land a role with a movie that will be appreciated? She great in every role and I actually liked her in this, both acting and character. Even with Swallow and The Devil All the Time (both movies I really enjoyed) those movies have not gained the appreciation needed to have her well known. Good performances by most of the ensemble but can't get to their fullest potential with the bad writing.
Ron Howard just seems to have lost clear direction. Maybe not his worst movie like most are saying but there's a lack of fluid direction. Right away it comes off as a basic movie. Honestly if the writing was just better I still believe this would still be pretty basic. He can get some emotional scenes down. I did feel bad for the situation and wanted everything to get better. And there are some enjoyable and entertaining moments. I didn't find myself hating this. But it's just a disappointment from the some choices made both in the story and a filmmaking standpoint. For example, the past scenes are all in handheld mainly. I felt motion sick at some points. It's a common technique to get more immersed into the story but it was just too much. Also the fact to neglect the whole voice of poverty and all that doesn't help. This might be more of a writing thing but it's those topics aren't discussed as much as they should. I really can't say I hated this. I wanted to finish the movie unlike the other two people in the theater who left halfway through. Hillbilly Elegy is a mess, but it's not a movie to skip completely. It'll be on Netflix soon so you won't be wasting any money. I for one just wanted to see it in theaters while available to me because I'm pretentious. It's a shame that the final product couldn't live up to the hype. To make it quite simple, this is 2020's The Goldfinch: so much hype around to only time get awful reviews and a disappointment.