Hillbilly Elegy
Family’s the only thing that means a goddamn. You’ll learn that.
Mawmaw
Summary:
HillBilly Elegy is the story of J.D. Vance as we see his life during two different stages, one being his childhood and the other his adulthood. As a child J.D. is very close with his family especially his Mom and is Mamaw. Although he does love his family J.D. starts to notice problems going on in his home especially with his mom who struggles with drug addiction with his Mamaw taking care of him a lot of the time. Adult J.D. is now a Yale student who has moved on from his family in Ohio but after his mother has a relapse in her addiction, J.D. travels back home to help but along the way some old wounds are resurrected.
Characters:
J.D. Vance is from Ohio but spends his summers in Kentucky with his rest family. This movie explores both his character during his teenage and adult years. As a kid, J.D. was troubled and spent a good amount of time with the wrong crowd. With an unstable family, J.D. turns to other sources for companionship and support. As he grows older, J.D. is able to receive an education and spend time in the military. His adult self is definitely more mature and responsible, however, he still carries scars from his troubled childhood.
Austin: 8.4/10
Hillbilly Elegy is a very powerful movie that dives into some very intense issues. It’s based on a memoir written by JD Vance. It is a very honest and emotional look into the deeper-seated issues that many more people deal with than they’d like to admit. It is a very captivating movie, and it sparks a lot of internal questions from start to finish. This is a “feel-good movie” or anything like that, but it was still a really good movie.
This is a pretty dark story, definitely not for the faint of heart. But if you can handle the stark truths that this movie displays, it is a really interesting story. This one is going to relate to a lot of people because everyone has skeletons in their closets, and our families shape us in so many ways, both good and bad. The writers do a fantastic job of bringing out the emotions of the story, and they do a great job of turning a memoir into a story built to survive on the big screen. My only issue with it is that there are a few scenes that feel wasted, either in the fact they didn’t need to make the final cut, or they didn’t explore certain subjects or storylines as deeply as I would have liked to see. The acting was quite good as well. The actors, especially Amy Adams, do a good job of bringing out the emotions in some of the more intense scenes. The drastic character shifts we see from literally one minute to the next is a reflection of how much research went into the real people behind the written characters.
This is a pretty good movie, very emotional and it shows the less shown ugly face of humanity. This movie brings out certain feelings when you are watching, and it stirs the inner emotional pot. Compared to the last few movies Netflix has released this is my favourite one for sure, and I recommend you find two hours in your day to sit down and watch this powerful film.
Sebastian: 8.0/10
After reading the synopsis of this film you should have a good idea what sort of story this is going to be. It is a tale of a dysfunctional family that we get to see through the eyes of a child and also that same child grown up. This movie’s biggest strength is that it feels real especially the situations that are presented in the film with the mom having anger issues and not being able to deal with her emotions and it shows how this affects the rest of her family. With more and more of these types of stories being brought out into the light in these modern times, it’s no surprise to see a film with this premise but when I watched I was unaware that it was a true story which makes it all the sadder. The acting in this film is top-notch with the stand outs being Bev Vance (Amy Adams) who is J.D.’s mother and we get to see her struggle as she gives into her addiction and has trouble moving forward and losing her bad habits, but we do see that she is a loving mother who does want the best for her kids. Mamaw (Glen Close) also delivers a stellar performance being the best support for J.D. when Bev is struggling and she helps him to discover how he wants to live his life. I felt that this movie did a good job showing the emotional turmoil that can be caused in these sorts of situations and how it can tear apart a family and have lasting effects. My only real issue in this movie is that I felt it did linger enough on the good moments between J.D. and his Mom as the scenes where they are getting along and having fun seem to be fewer and far between the scenes where Bev is hurting her family emotionally. I feel that the lows would feel all the lower if the highs were higher.
All in all, a pretty decent film that will make you feel things for the characters as well as wanting for everything to be alright. I would recommend this for any adult who is looking for an emotional drama that will feel all the more real because it is.
Nathanyal: 7.5/10
Hillbilly Elegy was an intriguing movie to say the least. Although this movie was based on a true story, I didn’t realize that fact until after the movie was over, which answered most of the questions I had about the movie. This movie featured essentially two simultaneous stories at the same time: the story of his childhood and the story of his adulthood. Watching this movie while both storylines happening was definitely entertaining, and each story provided depth for each other, strengthening the understanding of each part. The movie also features an intensity that didn’t allow you to look away. It also had an intriguing story, filled with many turns and developments. Each character had time in the limelight. Since the movie was based on a true story, there were many events that happened that were both interesting to watch and also happened within the realm of possibility.
Overall, this movie was an intriguing watch. The characters and the storylines make you reflect on your own situation and the struggles families have that have to start from nothing.
“This site is owned and operated by Austin Daley. Prairiegrownreviews.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Prairiegrownreviews.com also participates in other affiliate programs. This site is compensated for referring traffic and business to these companies.”
