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October 2, 2020
Say what you will, Antonio Campos' “The Devil all the Time” lives up to its title. Spanning numerous generations and set across a bleak and blood-stained Appalachian landscape, Campos' adaptation of Donald Ray Pollock's novel weaves together narrative threads of suicide, sexual assault, cancer, crucifixion and murder by screwdriver. Cruelty runs 24/7. The devil is working overtime.
Taking place in the hills of West Virginia and southeastern Ohio, “The Devil all the Time” resides during an era that might be called, historically, a time of peace. It is anything but. Written by Campos (”Christine”) and his brother Paulo Campos, with Pollock serving as narrator, the film opens with a soldier, Willard (Bill Skarsgard, terrific), just returned home from World War II. He falls in love with a beautiful young woman at a restaurant counter (Haley Bennett), scrounges together enough money for a house and has a son. Life isn't easy but it's good.
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