Based on the autobiographical novel by J. D. Vance (played by Gabriel Basso and Owen Asztalos in different time periods): J. D.'s early years in Middletown, Ohio are recalled living with a very dysfunctional mother (Amy Adams) and getting needed help from his maternal grandmother (Glenn Close).
Whether in the present tense (when J. D. is in university) or in the past tense (his early teen years in an economically struggling family and community), much of the story is very uncomfortable with repeated scenes of dysfunction without a break. The epilogue includes situations that would have been far less awkward to watch and the film would have been more balanced if such events were included in the narrative rather than just in the final summary.
Yet, the film is still a powerful drama with great performances from Adams and Close so it was worth the watch. - dbamateurcritic.
Whether in the present tense (when J. D. is in university) or in the past tense (his early teen years in an economically struggling family and community), much of the story is very uncomfortable with repeated scenes of dysfunction without a break. The epilogue includes situations that would have been far less awkward to watch and the film would have been more balanced if such events were included in the narrative rather than just in the final summary.
Yet, the film is still a powerful drama with great performances from Adams and Close so it was worth the watch. - dbamateurcritic.