Mr. Movie: ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ is the holiday season’s first must-see movie
Hillbilly Elegy
An elegy is defined as a poem of serious reflection. The word is often used as a lament for the dead. In the case of “Hillbilly Elegy,” it’s a little of both. Depressingly so but in a good movie sort of way.
Instead of good, let’s define “Hillbilly Elegy” as a great movie.
The movie is based on J.D. Vance’s longer-named autobiography. His book is titled “Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis.” The movie is more about the family than the culture and it’s a sometimes tough tale to watch.
But that’s in a good way. The movie is definitely difficult but it is also brilliantly put together by Ron Howard who is a master at storytelling.
Vance was abused as a child by his drug-addicted mother. Most of the abuse was verbal but she could get physical from time to time. Vance was also highly influenced by his grandmother.
“Hillbilly Elegy” is written by Vanessa Taylor who penned “The Shape of Water” and a few episodes of “Game of Thrones.” She’s an exceptional writer who does everything but actually put you in the shoes of Vance as a child and as an adult.
By the way, the movie will have an even bigger impact on those whose childhoods resembled something close to Vance’s. People who had angry and bitter parents, or parents whose focus was totally on themselves will relate to the struggle and may find many of Howard’s scenes uncomfortable.
Four performances stand out and two are pushing award-nomination territory. Perhaps this is the year that Glenn Close finally gets a long-deserved Oscar to go on the mantle next to her three Golden Globes.
Close plays Vance’s grandmother and the only person in the boy’s life who seems to care as much about him as she does herself. Howard makes the chameleon-like Close look like a life-weary woman whose road through life has been chock-full of potholes.
Couched in unflattering clothes and Mr. Magoo-like glasses and with a constant cigarette burning between her fingers, Close plays Mamaw as uncompromising in places yet soft and pliable in others. The stance confuses the boy but at the same time she’s the one constant he needed to become the man he eventually became.
It’s the best acting I’ve seen by anyone this year in any category.
Also quite good is Owen Asztalos who plays J.D. as a kid. This is a really tough role for a young actor. Asztalos is not only talented but he is already a master at using facial expressions and body language to convey the pain, the anger and the confusion of a pre-teen and teenager trapped by a life he didn’t choose, and exposed to the insanity put in his path by his mother.
The film’s fulcrum is J.D. as an adult. He’s done by Gabriel Basso (2013’s “The Kings of Summer”). Howard tells J.D.’s story through his eyes and weaves the narrative together through flashbacks from past that stretch into the present and then back again.
Amy Adams plays the boy’s junkie mom, Bev. Adams — like Close — has a zillion Oscar nominations and no wins. She did pick up a Golden Globe for Tim Burton’s “Big Eyes.” Adams — as she showed in “Vice,” “American Hustle” and a couple of other films — is an incredible actress.
Bev is an addict and like all addicts, all blame for her shortfalls and the addiction, and for everything, is someone else’s. Adams punctuates the performance by majoring in quite convincing meltdowns.
“Hillbilly Elegy” — the movie — can’t miss for Oscar, Golden Globe and other movie award nominations. You also have to include Howard in that picture. In the last couple of years he’s focused more on documentaries (“The Beatles: Eight Days a Week,” “Pavarotti” and this year’s “Rebuilding Paradise”) than doing movies for “entertainment.”
The last fictional work he did was “Solo: A Star Wars Story” in 2018.
Like this one, Howard’s best films have been movies about real people. He picked up a couple of Oscars and other awards for “A Beautiful Mind” and got critical praise for the “In the Heart of the Sea,” the story of how the book “Moby Dick” was written.
And now “Hillbilly Elegy.”
No director working today can tell a story as well as Howard. He takes Vance’s 264 page book and condenses it down into a straightforward message. Howard brilliantly — and sometimes uncomfortably — says you can be from and a part of your past, but you can also move forward. Moving forward, however, is easier said than done. The past is a magnet forever trying to drag you back and convince you that your destiny is what you once were and the life you used to have.
Along with deserved acting nods for Close and Asztalos and maybe Adams and Basso, I’m thinking this one grabs nominations for best director, best picture and — no doubt — best adapted screenplay.
“Hillbilly Elegy” is the holiday season’s first must-see movie.
▪ Rated R for mature themes, language and some violence. It is streaming on Netflix only.
▪ Rating: 5 out of 5
The Croods: A New Age
The term new age may be in the title but “The Croods: A New Age” contains very little that’s new. That’s where “aged” comes into play. This is the same old sequel crap we’ve been seeing for decades. Greedy producers throw something together and capitalize on the financial success of a first film.
In movies, this is the American way.
The first movie was partly developed by comedian John Cleese. He’s a super talented comedian and a master of deadpan comedy. Cleese’s absence from the sequel is glaring.
“A New Age” is directed by newcomer Joel Crawford and is written by four writers and is based on a story by original writers Kirk DeMicco and Chris Sanders. Two of the new writers are Kevin and Dan Hageman who helped write “The Lego Movie” and “Hotel Transylvania.”
Crawford worked in art departments for the Kung Fu Panda films and The Lego Movie 2.
The original cast returns. Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds, Catherine Keener, Cloris Leachman and Clark Duke give voice to the Croods. They’re joined by newcomers Leslie Mann, “Game of Thrones” star, Peter Dinklage and Kelly Marie Tran.
The Croods — looking for new stomping grounds — stumble onto a paradise where food is plenty and it’s safe from predators. It turns out this is the place Guy’s parents wanted him to find. The people running the place are new agey, a bit on the shifty side and they knew Guy’s parents.
Bananas — which Grug had sampled once as a kid — are the key to the movie’s conflict. I’ll leave it at that. Bananas may be important but the movie will likely get more raspberries — as in pflifft — than bananas.
Like a lot of films in 2020, this one is a victim of COVID-19. Crawford and his art crew pack the movie with a gazillion colors and plants and scenery galore. That makes “The Croods: A New Age” perfect for a 3D version. It might even have been in the original plans of the producers.
And though I haven’t checked — and won’t because I don’t really care — there is the possibility that this film is being shown in 3D in theaters in some markets.
“The Croods: A New Age” is banking on the success of the original movie. I don’t remember being invited to a screening when it did a debut in 2013. That tells me it probably wasn’t a very good movie.
Friends who saw it loved it so I could be wrong. However, wrong or right, the sequel isn’t close to good. It has the cheesy quality of those old half-hour cartoon shows of antiquity done by Hanna-Barbera. The movie is beautifully done but is totally empty.
It is — however — kid friendly and the real target of the movie is children. Adults will only find “A New Age” appealing if they need a nap.
▪ Rated PG for mature themes. It can be streamed on some pay-per-view sites and can be seen in theaters in states where theaters are open.
▪ Rating: 1 out of 5
This story was originally published November 26, 2020 at 3:00 PM with the headline "Mr. Movie: ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ is the holiday season’s first must-see movie."