Hillbilly Elegy: I’m Sure the Memoir Was Better (Netflix)

I was at a disadvantage when I saw this film, since I had never read J.D. Vance's 2016 best-selling memoir of the same name.  If that wasn't enough, I didn't even know what "elegy" meant either!  In case some of you reading this are in the same boat as I was (all 8 of you), the definition of elegy is "a poem of serious reflection, usually a lament for the dead."  It is, however, sometimes used to refer to a text with a somber or pessimistic tone, which appears to apply to this film adaptation of the memoir.  My youngest son, Noah, was very eager to see it, as were Robin and I.  Amy Adams is my favorite actress, and Ron Howard is one of my favorite directors.  Robin actually lived and worked in Appalachia in the 1970's!  I can't even recall seeing a Ron Howard movie I didn't like... but there's always a first time for everything. The movie is about J.D. Vance's escape from his super-dysfunctional family.  As the film opens, J.D. Vance (Gabriel Basso) is in Yale Law school circa 2011.  Despite being on a scholarship, he is working several jobs to help pay his expenses, and he has a great relationship with his girlfriend, Usha (Freida Pinto). The film then flashes back to 1997.  Vance's grandmother, Mamaw (Glenn Close), had managed to escape from Appalachian Kentucky to Middletown, Ohio with her husband, Papaw (Bo Hopkins).  Mamaw had an abusive childhood, and – despite her attempt to get a fresh start – Papaw is a physically-abusive alcoholic.  The older couple's daughter Bev has two children: young J.D. (Owen Asztalos) and Lindsey (Haley Bennett).  Bev is now without a partner and is raising the children by herself, with some help from Mamaw.  Bev has a borderline personality disorder and a drug addiction, and she is physically and emotionally abusive to both J.D. and Lindsay. Somehow, J.D. manages to escape from the inter-generational cycle of addiction, abuse, and poverty.  Unfortunately, the very frequent flashbacks made me feel like a yo-yo trapped in a malfunctioning time machine!  I thought Glenn Close gave a nice performance, but I wouldn't give her an Oscar.  Adams' performance was way over-the-top, although I'm sure that's the way Howard wanted her to play Bev.  I didn't learn anything about Appalachia, either.  What disappointed me the most, however, is that I never learned what were the inner resources that J.D. possessed that gave him the resilience to wind up a successful, normal person with a healthy romantic relationship. I'm glad J.D. was able to escape from the powerful, dysfunctional gravitational field of his family.  The memoir may be wonderful reading, but – at least for me (as well as Robin, Michael and Noah) – it just didn't work as a film. Bottom Line: It's an O.T.B.R.  I'd only see it if you are big Glenn Close or Amy Adams fans.  If the story interests you, I suggest that you read the memoir instead.