classicsoncall Review of The Devil All the Time

The Devil All the Time (2020)

"It is our delusions that lead us to sin."

[9/10 · 20 January 2021]

This is a film in which the connections among multiple characters isn't fully revealed until late in the movie. There are also a number of people who you key in on as principal players who suddenly drop out of the picture, though for obvious reasons as it turns out. As such, you may have to concentrate just a bit more on what's going on than in your average story with a linear chronology, as a handful of flashbacks are utilized to provide background detail that becomes important later on. For some viewers the slow burn nature of the picture may prove daunting, and it's dark themes may not resonate with the timid, but for those who stick with it, you'll be treated to a compelling drama of a young man who's forced to straddle the line between good and evil in an often unsuccessful attempt to protect the ones he loves. Despicable characters abound in the picture, none more so than the wicked preacher Preston Teagardin (Robert Pattinson), although his forerunner Roy Laferty (Harry Melling) I would consider a close second. By the time this film is over, you'll come to agree with the ill fated Sheriff Lee Bodecker (Sebastian Stan), who states to a young Arvin Russell in a critical flashback scene - "Some people were born just so they could be buried...". Turns out, there's a lot of that going on.