Hillbilly Elegy Netflix Movie Review

Hillbilly Elegy (2020)

Watch Hillbilly Elegy on Netflix / Buy the book (paid link)
Written by: J.D. Vance (based on the book by), Vanessa Taylor
Directed by: Ron Howard
Starring: Amy Adams, Glenn Close, Gabriel Basso,
Rated: R
Watch the trailer

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

Verdict
This relies on stereotypes to make broad generalizations about escaping Appalachia. The main character returns to the South which jeopardizes his future. The plot seems like it was going for stream of consciousness while it jumps back frequently to his memories. The big issue is how predictable these scenes become. The movie suffers for it as the point the movie wants to make is fully formed long before the movie actually ends.
Skip it.

Review
From reading about about the book that's the source for the movie, it was a big phenomenon in 2016 that apparently I missed. J.D. Vance wrote a memoir about his experiences in the South. It became political as an insight to the South as Vance conflated his experiences with reality for everyone.

From the start the movie feels dated with voice over. The voice over tells use how family always has your back then shows the kid's family having his back. The scene makes the voice over moot. With bad voice over all too often the movie narrates what we're already seeing.

Gabriel Basso plays J.D.

J.D. is a country kid trying to be a lawyer. He's out of his social class and the movie relies on tired tropes. How many times has a character's anxiety been show through not knowing which fork to use. The writing leaves a bit to be desired. It's easy to telegraph what's going to happen. There's nothing subtle about this. J.D. is at a fancy dinner with prospective employers and he's mad when a lawyer insults "rednecks." J.D. goes to Yale, I feel like he would have experience the classism already.

J.D. risks his future to help his mom who has overdosed. Most of that plot line is J.D. telling someone he understands there are rules but they shouldn't apply to him and his family. He's throwing away job interviews because of his mom, and he's spitting in the face of his grandma who sacrificed so he could have something better.

I suppose the main plot is J.D.'s future versus his past. The movie feels dated and the ending leaves a bit to be desired.

Glenn Close plays the grandma.

Glenn Close does a great job as J.D.'s grandma. She feels the part from her posture to her frequent glowering. What lets her down is the script. She doesn't have much to work with, but her makeup and acting sell the part.