La vetta del diavolo

I didn't know what to expect, but I found the film exceptionally well made and beautifully performed. It's a slow burn, but kept me engaged the entire time. I felt a Billy Bob Thornton, Robin Wright and Hopper Penn truly inhabited their characters and gave believable and moving performances.

I think this movie has been unjustly judged because perhaps politically it doesn't speak to the current trends, but that shouldn't discount the merit of the story.

While slow in the beginning, by the time it ended I truly felt the story had gone together to leave me satisfied. While not a perfect film I enjoyed it, loved the mood and I'm not sure why this movie has received the hate it has.

Worth the watch, but don't expect big budget action here. This is a small movie about a small town & a man who believes he can control the place & everyone in it. Of course this never ends well, especially when the next generation falls for each other because then plans are made & trouble ensues. While the plot is somewhat prosaic the work of the central actors carries the film & thank goodness or this would have fallen a bit flat. Billy Bob Thornton is always impactful in whatever role he's in & he does do the menacing roles particularly well and Robin Wright has the ability to make her mark with a small role here but it's her son, Hopper Penn who does the heavy lifting here & manages to hold the film together on his own pretty well.

He has the right kind of melancholic face for this role, you know the 'poor boy down on his luck, nothin' going right' kinda face, well that works here. Not sure I could buy him in a tough, ruthless role but he brings enough emotion & tension to his performance to make this an engaging watch. Not memorable but engaging nonetheless.

Don't trust the low rating. Billy Bob gives another captivating performance and the rest of the cast holds up as well. Hopper Penn especially did a nice job.

This is not a blockbuster though. It's a small cast in a small town setting but it still works. It's probably a 7 rating but I gave it an 8 to offset the negative ratings trying to take it down.

I watched this on a Saturday afternoon and just took my time with it. It does move slow but just stick with it and enjoy the performances. The scenes are well done and the actors really mesh. Hopefully, more Billy Bob fans will give it a watch and back up this review. It's a good film.

I love Billy Bob Thornton movies, but why he took on this script is a puzzle? Maybe as a favour to Sean Penn, whose son, Hopper Penn plays his son in this. He has his daddies name and somewhat of his hangdog looks, but acting talent and screen presence ? Nooo, at least, not yet. But then again, with the tired dialogue that the cast has been given, there are no outstanding performances here. Entirely populated with cut out characters , the psycho drug boss, incompetent minions, downtrodden wife, trailer trash mistress, corrupt police. And Its difficult to even tolerate, never mind to like, the young lovebirds, who we are supposed to be rooting for. Hence after 50 odd minutes of watching, I decided, I don't care what happens in the final half, and care less about who it happens to.

No plot spoilers, because, frankly, its a cookie cutter plot too. Its been done a hundred times before, probably 90 odd of them better.

And a mention of the video/audio quality. The video is overblown, daylight glare gives faces a cookie dough complexion, its impossible to get decent contrast, night scenes are bearable. This is also apparent in the the trailer as well, so its not a case of a bad copy. The dialogue audio is likewise overblown. In every scene, inside, outside, in a car.. they all sound the same, the rendition of the USA national anthem is..ermm..striking! This is magnified by the almost complete lack of ambient or atmospheric sounds, night scenes with barely a chirping cricket or rustling tree, street scenes with no traffic noise, restaurant scene with hardly a mumble from the other dozen or so patrons. It all sounds very claustrophobic.

Now that I have had a break, and some might say, a bit of a rant? I will attempt the next 50 minutes. If it improves, I will return and edit, but I doubt it.

Billy Bob Thorton, Robin Wright, and Jacob Penn bring some acting chops to this suspenseful story of a son trying to escape his fate and choose a different path. It had me on the edge of my sit. The film gives a sense of the decimation that small town America has experienced from economic hopelessness and drug addiction. Thorton gives a hard as nails performance, Wright shows us a vulnerable and nuanced, albeit drug addled mother, and Penn conveys the pain and conflict he is faced with.

This is a film that provides great performances, plot twists and suspense, a sense of place with cinematography and a script that reflects a sense of place.