Stars: 4.5/5
“The Devil All the Time” based on the book of the same title by Donald Ray Pollock is a beautifully executed dive into some dark—though realistically fictional—instances mostly occurring in 1960s Bible belt small towns.
Initially seeming anthological, the separate viewpoint characters infrequently intersect to play off each other’s natures in well-developed key crossovers reminiscent of the storytelling style of “Pulp Fiction” (though in correct chronological order). Each story has its own merit, and each contextualizes the next by setting up or severing relationships of other characters.
The film naturally divides itself into distinct acts with different tones attached to each, making the true nature of the film dubious for a significant portion of it. What viewers may first perceive as the downtrodden central plot following Willard Russell’s (Bill Skarsgård) return from World War II morphs into the origin story for his son, the real protagonist Arvin Russell (Tom Holland).
This prelude/backstory sets up several plots and loads Chekov’s gun before a time jump finds Arvin living out his adult life in the podunk Ohio town of Meade after a traumatic series of events in his childhood involving his father’s religious fanaticism during and following his mother’s death. 
At times it seems most characters in the observable world are helplessly entrenched in their religious convictions, which is often responsible for the off putting direction of the plot. Whether it’s sacrificing a living thing in a bargain with God or pawning off creepy sexual advances as “prayers,” Arvin finds several prominent characters in his life consumed with blind faith and zealot.
In nearly all cases, their extreme faith and its manipulation by others proves to be their downfall, instilling a lifelong aversion to it for Arvin despite its prevalence in his life. In this sense, the film is certainly dated and represents an American culture bygone except in microcosms of the same smalltown madness portrayed in “The Devil All the Time.”
The Reverend Preston Teagardin (Robert Pattinson) plays a major antagonistic role in the teenage lives of Arvin and his step-sister, Lenora Laferty (Eliza Scanlen). This role embodies the same dark-natured character Pattinson increasingly leans toward, evident in “Good Time” and his highly anticipated take on “The Batman.”
Holland further proves his prowess in accents, wielding a convincing backwoods Southern drawl throughout. Both of their characters were stellar, though hyperbolically evil and good, respectively. Arvin seems to have no flaws while Reverend Preston is a scumbag through and through.
I personally am not the biggest fan of the omniscient narrator as the exposition bombs can be loud and numerous, but the film used it to its benefit, revealing characters’ base thought processes instead of working them into plausible dialogue.