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Greetings again from the darkness. The Hatfields and McCoys family feud has long been a favorite topic and inspiration for literary and film projects. Lesser known, but ultimately more tragic and historically vital, is the 1863 Shelton Laurel Massacre during the Civil War. The novel from Ron Rash is the foundation of director David Burris' film that explores the fallout of that incident more than 100 years later in the very rural Appalachian hills of Madison County, North Carolina.

It doesn't take us long to get a line on Travis (Jeremy Irvine, War Horse), a high school dropout with authority issues who hangs out with his equally aimless friends, including Shane (Haley Joel Osment, The Sixth Sense). We have seen many film depictions of hillbillies over the years, so the grim atmosphere of unemployment, isolation, lack of education, drugs and lack-of-hope aren't surprising, and the undercurrent of the 1863 event is what should have set this one apart.

Interest picks up when teacher-turned-drug dealer Leonard (Noah Wyle) takes Travis under his wing after Travis has an unfortunate run-in with Carlton (Steve Earle), another local drug dealer. Travis moves in with Leonard and his drug-addicted girlfriend (Minka Kelly), and takes a real interest in the journals of Civil War soldiers that Leonard has collected. These stories spark a curiosity within Travis, in particular the saga of 13 year old David Shelton – one of the victims of the massacre.

It's the fact that Travis is oblivious to the history of his family, and how this event has so affected life in his hometown, that makes this story difficult to buy into. In spite of the communication void between Travis and his father, it's just not possible that the massacre would not have been a frequent topic of discussion throughout the years. Beyond that, this is little more than a typical small town battle between drug dealers … albeit two very articulate drug dealers. And yes, guns and turf do play a role here.

Jeremy Irvine, Noah Wyle and Steve Earle each make their characters someone interesting to watch. On the other hand, the female characters are mostly after-thoughts or plot devices. Travis' mother maintains a forlorn look that registers her resignation to fate, while Minka Kelly mostly gets knocked around (save for one excellent scene while alone with Travis), and Adelaide Clemens provides the rare sparks of light and optimism as Travis' love interest – and then just as quickly becomes a non-entity.

The fine acting and excellent camera work deserved a better story, especially given the framework of history. There is a recurring hillbilly philosophy in the movie that states "Time don't pass. It's just layers. It's all still happening." That philosophy could have better tied the current story into the past, which would have elevated this film to a new level.

Or is it? Well that depends on your idea of OK and also your liking to down and dirty B-movies with a touch of drama attached to them. Acting wise this is OK, story wise too, though it does tend to be predictable (and I'm not talking about the actors themselves and the way we look at them, but the characters and where they'll land eventually, no pun intended of course).

If of course you like a particular actor in this you will have a leaning for a positive review. All in all this drags quite a bit though and it might influence your viewing pleasure. It might mask itself as a thriller but it does knock more on the drama door than anything else. It's a shame though, that while it is gritty it sometimes seems to hold back its punches ...

There seemed to be several anachronisms in this move. Having, back in those days, lived somewhat out in the country, I had to ask myself did the locals really sport 2010s facial hair? "Hair" in the 70s was still largely an urban phenomenon. To my recollection the "red necks" still wore short hair and were beardless. And I find it hard to believe that the permeation of the drug culture--as bad as it was--was half so established then as it is now. People were a lot more cautious about their illicit habits in those days because you could really get into trouble for showing signs of drug intoxication or possession of small quantities of drugs. Yet the knuckleheads portrayed in this movie seem unaware of this. Again, throughout this move I got the feeling that I was looking at contemporary people dressed up and placed in a setting 40 years earlier. Well, it was 40 years ago and the historical awareness of Hollywood types has never been that great.

This production doesn't stand out, but it's suppose to be that way, because it's gritty and about the Appalachia people, how they live very differently in a civilized world, there's terminology, in how they navigate with their communities. The actors made it, and overall, just an incredible job. The story is really good. This is sort of an unforgettable, older culture, and community of people that, go untamed in a modern world, living modernly with lots of old traditions, and ways much similar to the pioneers, but on the western United States, but their families and the families after that is how its explained to them. And a culture that never really gets explained, to where poverty line is tough, but the people survive, and are strong. The story is great, but it's different, how the past can define someone, and how a generation can affect a person, even when they weren't around, and were much differently. Kind of going through it with the reader. As is the lead played by Jeremy. Overall it was really good, and light hearted, and some deep moments.

"The World Made Straight" is a well made film from 2015. It is currently available on NetFlix Instant Download Streaming. The Director is David Burris. The story and screenplay were written by Shane Danielsen. Actors include Noah Wyle, Jeremy Invine, Minka Kelly, Adelaide Clemens, Steve Earle, Haley Joel Osment, Marcus Hester, Colin Dennard, Alex Van, Robin Mullins, Frances Burnett, Robert Haulbrook, Sandra Ellis Lafferty, Ryan Taylor Harris, Anne O'Shea, Tom Gilroy, Stephen Gevedon, Deacon Dawson, Danielle Leaf, Christopher Nathan Miller, Harp Sanddman, Don Young, Tim Ware, Doug MacMillan, Mike Mitschele and Mike Kennedy. The story is complex and involves the Appalachian people and marijuana and many flashbacks to the civil war era. I gave it 6 stars. Dale Haufrect

This is a lovely little film. Wyle plays a fascinating, and multi layered character, that is well written. And he played it very well. The entire film was very well written. I suspect some of the poor reviews were due to the fact that this film was written for adults! It had historical value, as well as interesting characters, that were well developed. The cinematography was excellent, and the editing was also very good. A tight production, that was well directed. The film had a real sense of time and place. The characters seemed genuine, and real. The historical context of the story was well played out.

In the current climate of Hollywood, which is essentially suffering from creative bankruptcy, a film like this is a breath of fresh air. More please.

Interesting aspects but missing a core. Certain parts seem tamed down, especially teacher Leonard's story. He mostly just sits around reading. Dina's story not easy to understand. Guessed some of the historical story. Acting and production top notch. Accents not easy to understand. Basically I guess its very hard to like these people.