Kinda on the fence for thar one. I honestly can’t tell if I liked it or not. I’m not sure. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it either. The first hour bored the hell out of me and had me thinking this movie wasn’t worth it, but the second half - wow. My biggest problem is that it started so slow and then everything was so rushed. Too much time is spent on Bill Skarsgaard's character only to set up Arvin's trauma.
There wasn’t really much character development or exposition, so I couldn’t really form any relationships. Most of the characters needed more screen time to get invested in them. For example, I wished Sebastian Stan’s character was more developed, I think he was affected by the all-over-the-place pacing the most. That plot line between him, Riley Keough and Jason Clarke could have been its own movie. That way we would have known more about Sandy, like why did she participate in all that stuff?
The cast is great. None of the performances really sticks out above the rest, in my opinion, and none of them are that bad. Everyone does their job well, except for Bill Skarsgaard, his performance here was the weakest. His accent was very unconvincing and overdone. Tom Holland did a solid job as Arvin, though I can’t help but think the character Arvin should have been cast as more intimidating. The scene where he’s beating up the bullies, I just couldn’t buy him being intimidating.
I think the generational setup is usually very hard to do, and it is not done well here. I wish we saw more of the characters beyond the killings because at some point you meet a new character and just wait and wonder how he/she will die. The Devil All the Time might have been better as a mini-series to further explore the different stories, characters, and themes of religion, delusions, lust and manipulation.
@cutecruel I agree that I'd have liked to known more about Sandy, and how and why she wound up involved in Carl's "interests." I come across your reviews often; curious, what's your favorite movie?
Review by cutecruelBlockedParentSpoilers2020-09-17T12:16:11Z
Kinda on the fence for thar one. I honestly can’t tell if I liked it or not. I’m not sure. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it either. The first hour bored the hell out of me and had me thinking this movie wasn’t worth it, but the second half - wow. My biggest problem is that it started so slow and then everything was so rushed. Too much time is spent on Bill Skarsgaard's character only to set up Arvin's trauma.
There wasn’t really much character development or exposition, so I couldn’t really form any relationships. Most of the characters needed more screen time to get invested in them. For example, I wished Sebastian Stan’s character was more developed, I think he was affected by the all-over-the-place pacing the most. That plot line between him, Riley Keough and Jason Clarke could have been its own movie. That way we would have known more about Sandy, like why did she participate in all that stuff?
The cast is great. None of the performances really sticks out above the rest, in my opinion, and none of them are that bad. Everyone does their job well, except for Bill Skarsgaard, his performance here was the weakest. His accent was very unconvincing and overdone. Tom Holland did a solid job as Arvin, though I can’t help but think the character Arvin should have been cast as more intimidating. The scene where he’s beating up the bullies, I just couldn’t buy him being intimidating.
I think the generational setup is usually very hard to do, and it is not done well here. I wish we saw more of the characters beyond the killings because at some point you meet a new character and just wait and wonder how he/she will die. The Devil All the Time might have been better as a mini-series to further explore the different stories, characters, and themes of religion, delusions, lust and manipulation.