Shadows on the Wall | Devil's Peak

Devil’s Peak

dir Ben Young
scr Robert Knott
prd Griff Furst, Josh Kesselman, Robert Knott, Robin Wright, Jamie Hilton
with Hopper Penn, Billy Bob Thornton, Robin Wright, Katelyn Nacon, Jackie Earle Haley, Emma Booth, Brian d'Arcy James, Harrison Gilbertson, David Kallaway, Jared Bankens, Mark Ashworth, Elena Sanchez
release US 17.Feb.23
23/US 1h37

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Set in rural Appalachia, this dark thriller has a mournful tone that plays up the emptiness of life for people in a spiral of drugs and violence. Director Ben Young never generates much energy from the script, which is overstuffed with both narrative and character cliches. But a solid cast of acting veterans injects underlying emotions that make the movie watchable, even if it never has a point.

In small-town North Carolina, everyone is in the crystal meth business. Now 18, Jacob (Penn) works for his fearsome dealer father Charlie (Thornton), but he's concerned about his addict mother (Wright). Seemingly the only person in town without a killer instinct, Jacob is reluctant to carry out Charlie's murderous orders, and he's also starting to think about the bigger world thanks to his girlfriend Maggie (Nacon), who comes from a prominent family. But Maggie's corrupt community leader father (James) is determined to take down Charlie, and shady cop Rogers (Haley) is caught in the middle.

Lacking any sense of nuance, the film feels one-note. According to what we see on-screen, there's nothing remotely enjoyable about life in this corner of America, with its relentlessly downbeat gloominess and a constant sense of underlying menace. From violence to drugs to gambling, existence here feels meaningless, as everyone grows up together to become either a thug or a victim. What's missing is a glimpse of offhanded interaction or purpose that might make even one of these people sympathetic.

Thornton is the only actor who plays his character as someone who actually enjoys his miserable life, gleefully relishing the ludicrously overwritten dialog. He's unapologetically vile, with no apparent redeeming features. And he's also the most magnetic person in the movie. His scenes with Wright add a crackle of energy, and she also generates a lovely connection with Penn (Wright's real-life son) in some more openly emotive moments. While Haley and James add their own jagged textures, most of the other roles are less memorable.

As the narrative unfolds in one grim scene after another, a thriller-style plot begins to stretch its tentacles toward each character. Nothing about this feels organic, largely because every storytelling device is too well-worn to surprise us. The opening shot foreshadows the climax, as Jacob flees for his life wearing only his underpants. And when the sequence arrives, the most unexpected aspect is that this isn't the most contrived thing that happens on the way to a brutally nasty finale.

themes, language, violence 13.Feb.23

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