Review: ‘The Devil All the Time’
Religion can be many things. To some, it can be a savior; creating a sense of belonging to a community and a purpose that is larger than us, acting as an anchor that grounds us and gives our lives direction and meaning. To others, it can be a destroyer; a blunt weapon used to spread hate and divide, a tool to be used in order to prey on the weak and the vulnerable. In Antonio Campos’ ‘The Devil All the Time’, it is a ruthless sickness, poisoning the lives of everyone it comes into contact with, passed down from generation to generation like a genetic illness that corrupts and destroys from the inside.
Set in a rural town in Ohio, ‘The Devil All the Time’ charts through a series of different narratives: Willard Russell (Bill Skarsgård), a traumatized soldier discharged from active duty after World War II, returns home seeking to start a family with Charlotte (Haley Bennett). A young waitress (Riley Keough) meets a mysterious photographer (Jason Clarke) who convinces her to assist him in a series of brutal attacks. A delusional preacher (Harry Melling) implicates his wife (Mia Wasikowska) in his attempts to strengthen his relationship with God to tragic results. A corrupt sheriff (Sebastian Stan) finds his dark past catching up to him. A young man (Tom Holland) starts to suspect that the local reverend (Robert Pattinson) is preying on his younger step-sister (Eliza Scanlen).
If it sounds like the film has one storyline too many, then that’s because it does. Both slow in pacing and rushed in characterization and development, ‘The Devil All the Time’ would have benefited from a tighter, less sprawling narrative – or possibly a different format (such as a miniseries) that could truly give each character (and actor) the time and focus they deserved. Donald Ray Pollack’s sprawling, expansive novel on which the film is based managed to delve into each character’s psyche, providing context to their actions despite its relatively short length, and exploring themes of religion and mortality in an incredibly nuanced and complex manner. Campos attempts to recapture Pollack’s deft prose and cadence through the use of narration (provided by the author himself) but what works on paper doesn’t always work on screen; Pollack’s narration comes off as clunky and overbearing by the end of the film’s two hour and 15 minute runtime, giving the audience unneeded exposition they could’ve gleamed from the proceedings instead.
Despite its poor pacing and heavy-handed narration, ‘The Devil All the Time’ is still worth a watch; it is beautifully shot, with the gorgeous cinematography courtesy of Lol Crawley a stark contrast to the film’s dark and heavy subject matter. The score, by Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurriaans, also gives the film some much-needed vibrancy, the booming strings and scratchy guitars lending some urgency to the film’s muted nature. The film’s real draw, though, is its cast. Filled to the brim with some of the industry’s brightest and most promising stars, ‘The Devil All the Times’ gives each of them a moment to shine. Tom Holland, known for his role as Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, displays a side of himself we’ve never seen before, turning in a quiet, understated performance as Arvin, the closest the film has to a main a character. A traumatized yet steely young man who chooses to internalize his suffering rather than confront it head on, Arvin isn’t as showy a character as some of the others in the film but Holland manages to perfectly capture the nature of his character’s plight, expressing his grief and loneliness through his eyes and physicality alone, turning in one of the best performances of the year in the process.
Much has been made about Robert Pattinson’s performance in the film and he doesn’t disappoint, delivering a mesmerizing, searing turn as a sinister reverend with hidden motives. Sleazy and shady, with slicked-back hair and a slinky strut, Pattinson completely sinks into the role of Preston Teagardin and there’s never a moment where we don’t believe him. The film’s real MVP, though, is Bill Skarsgård. Despite his absence in much of the promotional material, Skarsgård dominates the entire first act, establishing a ferocious, commanding presence that leaves a shadow over the rest of the film. As a soldier struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder and his wife’s sudden bout of illness, Skarsgård carries himself with a strapping, self-assured grace that slowly starts to unravel as the film progresses. Quietly delivering solid performances throughout the past few years (alongside his soon-to-be iconic turn as Pennywise in the ‘It’ movies), Skarsgård has established a name for himself as one of the most exciting actors of his generation and he is in top form here, fearlessly diving deep into the dark recesses his character inhabits, emerging with a haunting portrayal of a man grappling with faith and religion. If there’s any performance in ‘The Devil All the Time’ that deserves to be in the awards race this year, it’s his.
Elsewhere, Riley Keough manages to leave a strong impression as a woman caught between a manipulative husband and her own moral compass despite a significant lack of screentime while Haley Bennett and Mia Wasikowska are severely underused as the wives of disturbed, delusional men. As the naïve, kind-hearted Lenora, Eliza Scanlen is the heart and soul of the film, lighting up the screen whenever she appears and providing a soft, warm foil to Holland’s cold, stony presences. In a character oddly reminiscent of Pattinson’s flashy reverend, ‘Harry Potter’ star Harry Melling turns in an electrifying performance as a manic preacher who will stop at nothing to prove his connection to God. The film’s only weak spot is the largely miscast Sebastian Stan, who struggles to find any substance in a largely underwritten role and frequently falls in and out of a grating Southern accent.
Ultimately, ‘The Devil All the Time’ is a haunting, searing rumination on faith, religion and mortality that is worth the watch for its cast alone. Patient viewers who decide to stick through the film’s sprawling narrative and meandering pacing will be rewarded with two of the best performances of the year so far courtesy of Holland and Skarsgård.
Rating: 3½ / 5
‘The Devil All the Time’ will be available on Netflix on September 16, 2020.