The Devil All the Time (2020)

I always get a little bit excited when a Marvel actor — Tom Holland in this case — decides to work on something more serious and demanding as it goes to show whether he/she has talent or not. Netflix's latest original, The Devil All the Time, doesn't only star Holland; Robert Pattinson, Haley Bennett, and Eliza Scanlen are also in it, three additional reasons I couldn't possibly overlook the film despite the underwhelming reviews. And if like me, the cast is the pretty much the only reason you want to see the film, you're in for a treat as, while the film itself is a bit tedious, the actors are downright terrific. 

The story opens in 1945 with the return home of a young World War II veteran, Willard Russell (Bill Skarsgård), from the South Pacific, where he had to put out of his misery a still-breathing marine scalped and crucified by the Japanese. Back at his hometown, his religious mother Emma (Kristin Griffith) tries to set him up with orphan church-goes Helen (Mia Wasikowska), but Willard has already fallen in love with Charlotte (Haley Bennett), a waitress he met on his way home, they soon get married and have a son, Arvin. Years later, when a now-pious Willard fails to cure his wife's cancer with prayers, he commits suicide, and 9-year-old Arvin (Michael Banks Repeta), is sent to live with his grandmother.  

In the meantime, Hellen falls in love with Roy Laferty (Harry Melling), a preacher who pours a jar of spiders on his head during sermons to demonstrate how his faith in God defeated his fear (of spiders); the two get married and have a daughter, Lenora. Roy's faith eventually makes him lose his grip on reality and, convinced God has given him the ability to resurrect the dead, he kills Helen, and when he realises he's delusional and can't bring her back, he runs away, leaving the poor Lenora an orphan in the hands of her almost grandmother Emma. 

In 1965, Arvin (Tom Holland) is a good but violent young man who does everything in his power to protect his step-sister Lenora (Eliza Scanlen) from the school boys who constantly pick on her because of her look and pious way, and the town's new preacher, Reverend Preston Teagardin (Robert Pattinson). 

All the while, Carl (Jason Clarke) and Sandy Henderson (Riley Keough), a husband-and-wife team of serial killers, troll America's highways searching for models to photograph and murder, and cross paths with the other characters. 

While it's poorly put together, features some unnecessary parts and it's so slow-paced it gets tedious at times, The Devil All the Time's is a twisted, intriguing story that keeps you hooked, and whose jumping forward and backward timeline makes it more compelling. It is a story that, similarly to Darren Aronofsky's mother!, doesn't shy away from showing how blind faith can be dark, sinful, and influence people's lives in a negative way, taking them and others through the most horrible and painful paths, and how dangerous religion can be on the uneducated. 

Character-wise, Antonio and Paulo Campos do a pretty good job. While some are used as mere plot devices or kill targets for the sake of gore and violence, the main characters are given enough time for us to understand the motivations behind their actions as well as connect with them and their stories in some way or another. In addition, it's very intriguing to see the characters cross paths and interact. 

It's the actors though that truly make (or break) the characters. Bill Skarsgård, Haley Bennett, Eliza Scanlen, Harry Melling, and Sebastian Stan — he plays a corrupted sheriff who happens to be Sandy's brother — are all great but three actors truly stand out. Riley Keough is genuinely impressive in the role of Sandy. Robert Pattinson gives yet another terrific performance as the handsome Reverend; he is charming and detestable at the same time, and brings a very menacing energy to the role. At last but not least, Tom Holland who gives arguably my favourite performance here. The Marvel star finds himself play a character whose personality is shaped on his traumatic and violent childhood. While both Arvin and Spider-Man are devoted to protecting the ones they love, Arvin is a haunted character deeply scarred by his past who finds himself walking on a very dangerous and dark path. Holland surprisingly reaches the level of emotional maturity required by the role and gives such a subtle, overwhelming, at times terrifying — when the always palpable rage reaches its peak —, and powerful performance. 

Technically, The Devil All the Time is pretty good, the most impressive aspects being Lol Crawley's haunting cinematography that conveys an eerie 1950s atmosphere, and the score from Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurriaans that, although being throughout very similar, is quite effective. 

Ultimately, The Devil All the Time is a bit too slow-paced for my taste and features an unnecessary voiceover narration by Donald Ray Pollock — writer of the novel upon which the film is based on — but the outstanding performances and overall compelling story make it worth the time.