Sometimes, you just do not know where to begin. What were my real and honest expectations going into “The Devil All the Time?” As it turns out, the path from there to the real experience was quite intriguing. Little did I know what I was getting into and I would still recommend knowing as little about a movie, going into the viewing, as possible.
Directed by Antonio Campos, (“Christine”), who also co-wrote the screenplay with his brother, Paulo, “The Devil All the Time” is based on a recent novel by Donald Ray Parker, who also delivered the narration during the film. Just fo the record, Jake Gyllenhaal stepped in for the production side of things; a job he has undertaken more and more over the past several years. Also, if cinematography interests you, Lol Crawley was brought in for those duties and did a nice job, overall.
At the top of the story, it looks like “The Devil All the Time” is something of a war film. Bill Skarsgard (“It Chapter Two”), as Willard Russell, is on his way back home to the West Virginia region, shortly after returning home from World War II. However, he meets a woman of interest, played by Haley Bennett (“The Red Sea Diving Resort”), along the way, and decides to detour his life for her. As Willard and Charlotte begin to build a family, other people close to the family are trying to do the same thing. Roy Laferty, played by Harry Melling (“The Keeper”) is a man of his day when it comes to preaching. By his side is Helen Hutton Laferty, played by Mia Wasikowska (“Judy and Punch”). She is also a friend of Willard’s family, which becomes important to the story later on.
Willard and his family and Roy and his family soon produce offspring, but though their intentions are good, they are very misguided and after awhile, they directly impact those who are closest to them. By a series of incidents and tragedies, the two children, Arvin Eugene Russell (played by Tom Holland, “Spider-Man: Far From Home”) and Lenora Laferty (played by Eliza Scanlen, “Little Women”) are left homeless and orphaned. They eventually find themselves being raised by Willard’s family, which is just about the best thing a kid could hope for, but they have already been greatly influenced by their troubled upbringings.
Elsewhere, another deranged family is silently offing unsuspecting individuals and sooner or later, some of these people, aforementioned, will be involved. 
The driver of this outfit is Sandy Henderson, played by Riley Keough (“Paterno”). She is a sad, trapped individual who seeks something that almost everyone does, but tries to achieve it in the most unappealing manner imaginable. Sitting in the car along with her is her husband of sorts, Carl Henderson, played by Jason Clarke (“Pet Sematary”). He is manipulative and deceitful to his core and takes a liking to photography, but like his wife, goes about his practice in a very unbecoming fashion.
As Arvin and Lenora dwell in the presence of the Willard family, which is comprised of Emma Russell, played by Kristin Griffith (“Ben is Back”), and Earskell, played by David Atkinson, they remain involved in the local church, which is now being populated by traveling minsters. 
Making a late appearance is none other than Robert Pattinson (“Tenet”) as Reverend Preston Teagardin. If you can imagine the most vile character to ever grace the screen, you might find yourself making room for this one by the time the story has concluded. Once again, a series of incidents and tragedies befall the grown children and now they are the ones directly involved. Note that their lessons learned from those who raised them play a vital part in all of this.
By the time Arvin goes on his own, he has become a different person, or has he? 
Was this already formed inside of him, waiting to be pulled out, or did the actions he took make him the man that he might have been trying to avoid becoming? The biggest theme throughout “The Devil All the Time” is seeing supposedly good intentions be fatally tainted by evil actions. This does not make the perpetrators innocent, but it puts what they do into perspective. Do we see people’s actions in the same light when or if the context somehow changes the motives behind those actions? Still, there are those who we can see have done nothing innocently, yet they have done nothing, in action, different from what the other have done.
These people exist among us, but we do not see them most of the time and so we do not fear their presence. Maybe that is a good thing. As for “The Devil All the Time,” the graphic nature and incredibly shocking deeds of supposedly spiritual individuals is an fortunate trend in mainstream storytelling these days. Most of us are keenly aware that bad people exist in all walks of life, but does the focus need to be so repetitive? I am not the only one to answer that question. However, from a strictly objective viewpoint, a number of acting portrayals should be considered once award season arrives, especially those of Tom Holland and Robert Pattinson. Keep in mind that 2020 will not be like any year before it. I just hope that the easy access of Netflix will continue to elevate movies that would otherwise go largely unnoticed. The eventual necessity for lower film budgets should encourage a greater focus on character-driven tales and I am all for that possible trend. Only time will tell…
Director: Antonio Campos
Screenwriters: Antonio and Paulo Campos
Cinematography: Lol Crawley
Starring: Tom Holland, Bill Skarsgard, Riley Keough, Jason Clarke, Sebastian Stan as Sheriff Lee Bodecker, Haley Bennett, Eliza Scanlen, Mia Wasikowska and Robert Pattinson
Distributor: Netflix
Release: September 11th, 2020
