Back Roads

After a mother (Juliette Lewis) goes to prison for shooting her husband in a backwater town in the Eastern USA, a young man (Alex Pettyfer) has to forsake college and take care of his three younger sisters, including a teenage hellion (Nicola Peltz). Meanwhile a wife who lives down the lane catches his interest (Jennifer Morrison).

"Back Roads" (2018) is a melancholy psychological family drama with a crime element that could be classified as Southern Gothic. While the events take place in Western Pennsylvania they could occur in any backwater community in the Eastern USA or Canada. The film was shot in St. Francisville, Louisiana, which is a half-hour drive north of Baton Rouge along the Mississippi.

Films that come to mind include "Mud" (2012), "Joe" (2013), "Winter's Bone" (2010), "Undertow" (2004), "Snow Angels" (2007), "Monster's Ball" (2001) and "The Fugitive Kind" (1960). The flick leaves you with a bad taste because it deals with some ugly things and features painful emotions, not to mention it's unrelentingly gloomy. If you think your family growing up was dysfunctional, you ain't seen nothing. But, if you reflect on the movie and the understated clues, everything makes sense and is well-written, based on Tawni O'Dell 1999 novel. Just don't expect a pleasant time.

The film runs 1 hour, 41 minutes.

GRADE: B-/C+

I think it is important to be aware before you go into this film that it is most definitely a drama and not really a thriller. I think most of the sub 5 star reviews have seen the thriller tag and thought that was what they were going to get. This is a serious drama about child abuse and how it can affect everything and everyone around you and is a brave movie if I may say that. If you are feeling depressed or are expecting something else then I would walk away now and find something else to watch. You definitely have to be in a certain mood to watch this and take it in properly.

The acting from the entire cast was superb especially Alex Pettyfer who carried the movie and directed it but also a scintillating performance from Nicola Peltz and Hala Finley.

The subject is a serious one about child abuse in America and I think how widespread it is around the entire world and gives one pause for thought and to ask questions of the audience which is a good thing. However if you are not in the mood I do not think you will find this an enjoyable experience as it will leave you with a good few dark questions and is not conducive to alleviating your mood if you are in any way feeling down or depressed.

That said its a brave subject to tackle and make a movie about knowing full well that 80% of audiences will not like it and prefer the crash, bang, wallop that society seems to focus on these days which is a shame.

Back Roads is like watching a train wreck in slow motion. It's the car accident on the side of the freeway at which you can't help but stare. Bad family situations and dysfunction grow progressively worse as more and more buried facts and emotions are revealed. So sad, it is on the scale of a Greek tragedy, except our hero is not to at all blame, making this a true drama/melodrama. Direction and acting are superb. This is not your typical action/horror/superhero bubble gum fare. This is for intelligent and sensitive adults with patience and appreciation for human suffering. One could argue it is heavy handed, with all the layers upon layers of misfortune and dysfunction, yet that clearly is the intent of the story. Our hero is so admirable and relatable, charged with the responsibility of raising, protecting, and otherwise caring for his three younger sisters, but in many ways, he is still a child himself, and a scarred one at that. Living in this impossibly chaotic and crazy situation on a day to day basis makes a predictable, restrained life in an asylum or penitentiary seem to be a step up. Now I want to read the novel.

I see some reviewers thought this movie was too slow but to me it was made at the right pace as this is a story that is slowly evolving, from a dramatic beginning to a disturbing climax. The acting was faultless with all the actors and actresses giving a special touch to their characters. The main character Harley Altmyer is played by Alex Pettyfer and he definitely makes this movie worth watching. A traumatized young adult with huge responsabilities discovers the other gender for the first time and that while coping with the things that are haunting him from the past and present. For a drama it was better than I expected.

This film draws you in and holds you through to the end. The story is profound, tragic, emotionally multi-layered and all too prevalent in real life. The acting is spot on by all involved, I didnt realize until the end that the lead was also first time directing! Bravo Alex!! Job well done on both accounts and here's to your bravery in tackling a subject this gritty, devastating and true to life, its supurb! For all the lower ratings, this is not a thriller or for immature audiences; I would say they either didnt "get" the film and/or they were looking for a Hollywood thriller worthy of an oscar. Nevermind them, if you are a mature adult who appreciates a well acted, well made film with some dark content then you should definitely see this film.