Hillbilly Elegy (2020)

Director: Ron Howard
Stars: Amy Adams, Glenn Close, Gabriel Basso
Runtime: 116 minutes

Synopsis: A Yale law student drawn back to his hometown grapples with family history, Appalachian values, and the American dream.

Verdict: Let's face it, when it comes to his directorial efforts, Ron Howard has a pretty hit-and-miss record. Sure, he's made a bunch of great films such as "Apollo 13" or "A Beautiful Mind", but he's also responsible for more than a few flops, such as "Inferno" or "The Dilemma". Despite a trailer that sparked early awards talk, early reviews for "Hillbilly Elegy" quickly buried any chance of future medals for the Netflix original. I was hesitant to even give it a shot following the abysmal 27% score it gathered on Rotten Tomatoes but, to my surprise, the first thing that popped into my head as the movie was ending was "hey, that wasn't so bad".

Now I'm not calling J.D.'s inspirational biography a masterpiece or anything close. In fact, you do wonder at times why it's aimlessly floating still, repeating already established notions as if there was no clear path to follow, but that was easily forgivable to me because after all, it is the story of a lost soul struggling to find her place in a world she feels has rejected her and captured with the help of an appropriate use of raunchy camera movement. That someone, of course, is Beverly, J.D.'s drug-addicted mother played by an Amy Adams who once again delivered a rich performance that easily could've come off as over the top, but feels so natural that you can't help but feel bad for the character. Haley Bennett and especially Glenn Close also stand out as Beverly's daughter and mother respectively, complementing her and J.D.'s story in a rather efficient manner. My biggest complaint about the overall film would be how risk-free and uninteresting the approach taken was. It never feels like its own thing, and I doubt that it would've worked without strong performances holding it together.

I'm aware that I belong in the minority who actually didn't mind sitting through the movie but considering its availability on Netflix, I'd still encourage those who found the trailer to be interesting to at the very least give it a fair try. I didn't regret it, and I hope you don't either.

FINAL GRADE: 6/10