Initially optimistic, the coupling of Willard and Charlotte produces young Arvin - in time, the film’s sword of vengeance. Arvin becomes a karmic leveller in the wretched town of Knockemstiff. The befallen Willard encounters a grotesque crucifixion - a lurid vision while on a military tour - inciting his acutely bellicose persona. His early run in with antagonistic hillmen - a Southern Gothic staple - foreshadows Arvin’s ascension to omnipotent arbiter. An adaptation of Donald Ray Pollock’s infernal debut book, The Devil All The Time revels in its abyssal pessimism.

Source: The Standard February 23, 2021 09:11 UTC