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Ron Howard’s Hillbilly Elegy is not nearly as bad as many of the critics have made it out to be. Not that I like it. I dislike it for different reasons than most of the critics though.
One Hillbilly's Perspective on Netflix’s Hillbilly Elegy https://culturalrevue.com/2020/12/08/one-hillbillys-perspective-on-the-hillbilly-elegy-film/
One Hillbilly's Perspective on Netflix’s Hillbilly Elegy https://culturalrevue.com/2020/12/08/one-hillbillys-perspective-on-the-hillbilly-elegy-film/
I wish I loved the Hillbilly Elegy movie, b/c I love the Vance family’s story. It’s just too bad a filmmaker like Jeff Nichols or Debra Granik didn’t adapt the book instead.
@ConFilmBuff @masterofoneinc1 @HannahGraceLong @TitusFilm @TheEdBlogAdmin @Christian_Ham @EstherOfReilly
@ConFilmBuff @masterofoneinc1 @HannahGraceLong @TitusFilm @TheEdBlogAdmin @Christian_Ham @EstherOfReilly
Thank you, @antisocialcrit & @culturalrevue for publishing my article here.
Check out my notes on Letterboxd for further, more scattered thoughts. https://boxd.it/1uruUP
The usual suspects hate the Hillbilly Elegy movie, many of which hated the book as well. But it’s not just the usual suspects criticizing it. In addition to my article, see also the reviews of writers like Kevin D. Williamson, @rkylesmith, Armond White ( @3xchair), & @SonnyBunch.
If ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ had been made the same way as Ron Howard’s Hillbilly Elegy, the hero would have been George Bailey’s little brother, Harry. Why is ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ about George Bailey and not about Harry? . . .
. . . Partially because, despite the good of Harry’s success, the most interesting and heroic person is George. I feel like the same thoughts can and should be applied to Hillbilly Elegy, the movie and not really the book, to help explain why I feel the way I do about the film.
Check out Eric McDonough’s ( @ConFilmBuff) short review at Letterboxd for a sort of rebuttal to my review and reviews like it. https://boxd.it/1uIi0z
In the rec’s at the end of my Cultural Revue article, I could have been more clear: Vance’s book itself is a better recommendation to add to that list. And I should have added @Chris_arnade’s book ‘Dignity: Seeking Respect in Back Row America,’ which I know thanks to @titusfilm.
