Review: ‘Hillbilly Elegy’
With uninspired direction and a morally muddled thematic through-line, Hillbilly Elegy is a compelling offering in the Netflix catalogue that may not get much awards traction but still stands tall on its own thanks to career-defining performances from Glenn Close and Amy Adams.
Based off of J.D. Vance’s 2016 novel of the same name, Hillbilly Elegy stars Glenn Close, Amy Adams, and Gabriel Basso, and is helmed by Academy-Award winner Ron Howard in his first narrative film since 2018’s Solo: A Star Wars Story. Following the story of a young man (Basso) who must come to terms with his past and familial strifes regarding the tumultuous relationships between himself, his mother (Adams), his grandmother (Close), and those around him, the film rounds out Netflix’s impressive awards season slate in a season where they have an embarrassment of riches to campaign for, but whether or not the film deserves a spot on it is another question.
In what has largely been the year of seasoned and newfound auteurs having their voices heard with unbelievable amounts of creative control, Ron Howard, as always, decides to keep the film’s creative voice mellowed in line with his trademark style. Many if not all of the film’s technical aspects are as standardized as possible, squeezing out creativity to preserve a supposed inoffensive audience appeal. At it’s best displaying competency and at its worst playing like a mediocre parody of some of the most highly-acclaimed films in its vein, Howard’s straightforward and workmanlike direction leaves much to be desired in a film that would’ve benefited greatly from a more heartfelt voice behind the camera that could aid in delving deeper into the central narrative rather than streamlining it for public consumption.
However, luckily, the emotion lacking in Howard’s direction can be found in nearly every other aspect of Hillbilly Elegy‘s creation. While the film is framed through the perspective of Vance, the emotional core of the film lies within the relationship between his mother Bev (Adams) and her mother, whom he calls Mamaw (Close). Two generations at odds over personal battle with addiction and abuse, both Amy Adams and Glenn Close are required to step up to the plate and dig deep to achieve the performances necessary to portray such broken subjects, and both follow through with the caliber needed. It’s clear these roles are taken in mind with the hopeful promise of awards glory (both Adams and Close are shooting for their seventh and eighth nominations respectively and their first wins), yet they are each able to capture the smaller, more intimate, moments with heartbreaking nuance while still having their showy scenes. Ultimately, though, it may not be enough to get either actress her long deserved win, in a field with many other outstanding candidates in more well rounded films, and even an arguably better broken mother-daughter duo in Vanessa Kirby and Ellen Burstyn’s turns in Pieces of a Woman (which arrives on the very same Netflix in early 2021, just in time to qualify for the majority of awards).
Regardless of their status in the awards conversation, Adam’s and Close’s performances aid in bringing the screenplay to life as well. Penned by Vanessa Taylor (whose other credits include Guillermo Del Toro’s The Shape of Water and Adam McKay and Jennifer Lawrence’s upcoming thriller Bad Blood), the novel that this film was based on has been riddled with much controversy since its original release following a highly divisive election. Tasked with the challenge of adapting Vance’s novel and smoothing out potential red flags, Taylor’s commendable efforts were largely successful but unfortunately still leaves a few gaping holes untouched. Yet, once again, the streamlined approach does affect certain aspects of the film. Much of the subtextual nature of the novel provided a window into the minds and motivations of a broken rural culture that, if handled well, could’ve provided valuable insight into the current cultural and socioeconomic situations of certain facets of our society that have influenced the development of the entire globe in recent years.
Yet, while the end product shies away from reflecting those parts of the novel on the surface, as a whole, Taylor is able to form a largely compelling narrative that is sure to touch many hearts and imbue further familial conversations with much emotion for those who have dealt with certain facets of what the film covers.
Overall, Hillbilly Elegy is a compelling offering in the Netflix catalogue that may not get much awards traction but still stands tall on its own. While the presence of Ron Howard’s uninspired direction and a morally muddled thematic through-line are clear as day, they are overshadowed by career-defining performances from Glenn Close and Amy Adams, as well as a heartwrenching and compelling narrative that will hit close to home for many among us. – Diego Andaluz
Rating: 3.5/5
Hillbilly Elegy will be released in limited theaters in the US on November 11, before debuting on Netflix on November 24.