The Devil All the Time (2020)

Sinister characters converge around a young man devoted to protecting those he loves in a postwar backwoods town teeming with corruption and brutality.

Director:

Antonio Campos

Writers:

Antonio Campos (screenplay by), Paulo Campos (screenplay by)

Stars:

Donald Ray Pollock, Bill Skarsgård, Tom Holland

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Donald Ray Pollock	...	Narrator (voice)
Bill Skarsgård	...	Willard
Tom Holland	...	Arvin
Michael Banks Repeta	...	Arvin at 9
Emilio Subercaseaux Campos	...	Baby Arvin
Haley Bennett	...	Charlotte
Kristin Griffith	...	Emma
Sebastian Stan	...	Deputy Lee Bodecker
Riley Keough	...	Sandy
Jason Clarke	...	Carl
Harry Melling	...	Roy
Pokey LaFarge	...	Theodore
Eliza Scanlen	...	Lenora
Robert Pattinson	...	Rev. Preston Teagardin
David Atkinson	...	Earskell

Storyline

Set in rural southern Ohio and West Virginia, The Devil All the Time follows a cast of compelling and bizarre characters from the end of World War II to the 1960s. There's Willard Russell, tormented veteran of the carnage in the South Pacific, who can't save his beautiful wife, Charlotte, from an agonizing death by cancer no matter how much sacrificial blood he pours on his "prayer log." There's Carl and Sandy Henderson, a husband-and-wife team of serial killers, who troll America's highways searching for suitable models to photograph and exterminate. There's the spider-handling preacher Roy and his crippled virtuoso-guitar-playing sidekick, Theodore, running from the law. And caught in the middle of all this is Arvin Eugene Russell, Willard and Charlotte's orphaned son, who grows up to be a good but also violent man in his own right.

---

Plot Keywords:

male full frontal nudity | neo noir | male rear nudity | evil | post war | 

---

Taglines:

Everyone ends up in the same damned place.

---

Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, bloody/disturbing images, sexual content, graphic nudity, and language throughout

Did You Know?

Trivia

Crucifixion is a recurring theme throughout the movie. There is a picture of Jesus on the cross hanging on the wall in Arvin's room. Arvin, Willard and Reverend Teagardin all injure their hands, recalling the stigmata. And while it wasn't common, Japanese soldiers really did crucify prisoners of war during World War II.

---

Goofs

Willard's unit crest indicates he was part of the 3rd Marine Division, which only saw action in the Pacific Theater. He comes home with a German Luger pistol, although the 3rd MarDiv did not see action in Europe.

---

Quotes

Narrator: Four hundred or so people lived in Knockemstiff in 1957, nearly all of them connected by blood by one godforsaken calamity or another, be it lust, or necessity, or just plain ignorance.

---

Connections

Referenced in Sardonicast: Tenet, The Devil All the Time, Stalker (2020)

---

Soundtracks

Honeycomb
Written by Bob Merrill
Performed by Jimmie Rodgers
Published by Golden Bell Songs c/o Music & Media International, Inc.
Courtesy of Rhino Entertainment Company
By arrangement with Warner Music Group Film & TV Licensing

User Reviews

A Goddamn wel acted movie.

Okay Tom Holland, Bill Skarsgård, Robert Pattinson, Sebastian Stan and harry Melling acted great in this movie. The story was unlike anything I'd ever seen personally, it was messy but also satisfying. I was interested in what was going to happen throughout the movie and it just kept going. The ending won't work for everyone but it worked for me. I give this movie an 8/10 for acting and how they told the story in a new way.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 September 2020 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Devil All the Time

Filming Locations:

33 W 10th Street, Anniston, Alabama, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bronx Moving Co., Nine Stories Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

138 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1