The Devil All The Time - Review

Rating: 4 out of 5

IT may be a slow burn Gothic thriller but Antonio Campos’s adaptation of William Hjortsberg’s novel The Devil All the Time builds to a genuinely powerful climax that stays with you for some time afterwards.

A sprawling, multi-generational tale of religion, abuse and murder, the film takes place in the period between the end of the Second World War and the onset of Vietnam, in the Deep Southern towns of Coal Creek, West Virginia, and Knockemstiff, Ohio.

It picks up as a God-fearing man named Willard (Bill Skarsgård) returns home from WWII carrying the scars of a particularly harrowing death of a colleague he found crucified on the battlefield.

Determined to put the war behind him and start a new and prosperous life, he marries and has a son, Arvin Russell, before tragedy strikes seven years later as his wife is stricken by cancer. The ensuing events prove formative in the youth of Arvin.

At the same time, a newlywed couple, Sandy (Riley Keough) and Carl (Jason Clarke) begin a murderous rampage, whereby they pick up young male hitchhikers, photograph them fornicating with Sandy, and kill them, dismembering and burying them in the woods.

And there’s also a pair of hillbilly preachers who pour spiders on their faces in shows of religious righteousness, before one of them falls foul of God’s plan and foolishly kills his wife (an all too fleeting Mia Wasikowska), believing he has the power to resurrect her.

This act, in turn, leaves an orphaned daughter, Lenora (played as an adult by Eliza Scanlen), who comes to be viewed as a sister by the adult Arvin (Tom Holland), in a relationship that forms the beating heart of the film.

Indeed, having taken his time to establish the past traumas that inform the lives of the next generation of characters, Campos really allows you to get under the skin of the characters and understand both their hurt and their motivations.

As a young man, Holland’s Arvin views himself as a protector, still guided by some of his late Dad’s early lessons, with a strong moral compass. He is consistently there to defend Lenora from lustful school bullies - but is crucially and fatefully absent when she falls under the spell of a new preacher (Robert Pattinson).

It’s a cruel twist of fate that Arvin will eventually find himself at the centre of so many converging storylines, in which he will play a crucial deciding factor.

But it’s testament to the cleverness of both Hjortsberg’s source text and Campos’s direction that none of it feels contrived; rather, organic and perhaps even the work of a God so often referenced by its many characters.

Given the darkness inherent in many of its themes, it’s perhaps no surprise that The Devil All The Time isn’t the easiest or breeziest of watches and leaves you feeling more than a little disturbed.

But as an examination of how religion is so often used and exploited for evil gains, it’s frighteningly close to many real events, especially given the context of the weaponisation of religion.

Pattinson’s wicked pastor is particularly prone to this, using the Bible to seduce innocent young women before turning his back on them and sending them into devastating spirals. It’s a performance of slimy intensity that really unnerves and gets under your skin: his reckoning, when it comes, extremely satisfying.

But the film also offers up a wide-ranging examination of grief and trauma - how it can infect and inform decisions, while linking from one generation to the next. And it shows the corrosive effects of corruption on those caught in its web - with Sebastian Stan’s shadowy sheriff another memorable rogue prone to all kinds of vices and murderous cover-ups in a bid to hold onto power.

If there’s a sense that the wrongdoing and tragedy that permeates this picture can feel overwhelming at times, then it’s a valid argument - and some will find The Devil All The Time a little too intense and downbeat for their liking. Not many characters enjoy satisfying or even redemptive journeys and there is a sense of foreboding throughout.

But there’s also pockets of black humour and an inherent sense of optimism, as evidenced in the hope it places in Holland’s Arvin - a plucky individual, shaped by his father’s violence, but also by his moral code, who has to be tough and violent to survive in a tough and violent world - one that’s not always fair and one that certainly requires an element of luck to survive. Holland is excellent, completing shedding his Peter Parker innocence and exuberance.

Campos’ film is certainly aware of what it takes to navigate this world and he skilfully plots a path through the turmoil that patient, mature viewers should ultimately find rewarding. Comparisons have been made with the works of Cormac McCarthy’s novels as well as the directing style of auteurs like the Coens and Tarantino (given the myriad storylines that ultimately converge). They’re not misplaced.

But Campos also has his own style and embraces both the Gothic elements of the story and the Deep South locations to forge a work that is distinct, engaging and occasionally scarring. It’s a bold, provocative piece of work that features uniformly great performances.

Certificate: 18

Running time: 2hrs 20mins