Monday, 5 December 2022

The Devil All the Time (3 Stars)



This is a film that was strongly recommended to me when it was first released two years ago. I put it on my Netflix watch list and forgot about it. I had absolutely no idea what it was about. I'd never read a review or seen a trailer before I sat down to watch it today.

I was pleasantly surprised when it started. It shows a religious community in a small town in Ohio that looks so pleasant. I feel a longing for a simple life like that. The film starts in 1945, but most of the story takes place from 1957 to 1965. Those were simpler times.

But there's darkness behind the façade. Some of the Christians are hypocrites, some are religious fanatics, and others just don't know what they're doing. If you want to be a Christian, you should read the Bible to know what a Christian is. If you make it up while you're going along, based on your own feelings, you'll make mistakes. For instance, Willard Russell is a devoted Christian who prays every day. When his wife becomes ill with cancer, he prays even more fervently, but she isn't healed. He thinks God is demanding a sacrifice from him, so he kills his son's dog and nails it to a cross.

Another man, a preacher, kills his wife, because he thinks God has given him the power to resurrect her.

Christianity is the main theme of this mixed up film that rambles from one story to another. Even a serial killer likes to listen to gospel music after murdering his latest victim. I always look for a message in films, but it's not clear to me what this film's director is trying to say. The film is based on a novel, so maybe he's just doing a one-to-one adaptation of the novel without adding his own ideas. In that case I'd need to read the book, but I won't. The film isn't important enough to me.

This is a film that I'd like to discuss with someone who likes it. Or someone who's read the book.

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