About The Devil All the Time (Book/Movie)
Post 959:
The Devil All the Time is a novel I recently read, hearing about it from a friend at work. It is compelling fiction, written with a lack of artifice that makes its shocking subject matter all the more chilling.
I’ll say from the jump that if you’re not wearing your big boy pants, don’t even think about taking this leap. There’s nothing light about any one of the characters or plot points. Hard to remember ever reading something so dark. There’s cracks and flaws in just about everything here, from the characters to their shoes to the way the wind blows. Dark, you know.
Dark is too broad, though. Anyone can write about monsters in the closet or a faceless stalker that’s perpetually in the shadows. Stephen King dread isn’t easy to create, but I’d say it’s easier. Dread created by characters that the world might actually produce is far harder to conjure.
My opinion. But I’m right.
It’s not a straightforward narrative, at least, not a first. I wondered where it was going and why I even cared for the first thirty pages, but I was glad I stuck with it. Some of the worst characters in fiction history are in there, and they need to get what’s coming to them. Justice gets served, though not with any judge or jury, and you could argue that some of these people are so disgusting, true justice could only be handed out proper in the afterlife.
Not convinced? I don’t blame you. In the end I’ll pitch it by saying that it does payoff and that the writing is extremely tight and purposeful. There’s not a glut of flowery prose; the author is pinpoint but not flashy. The “hero” has actual cause—something that separates him from the cast of degenerates occupying the other pages.
As far as the movie… it’s competent. Having read the book so recently, maybe it’s hard to judge fairly. I thought the performances (except for Tom Holland’s Arvin) weren’t quite up to the mark. The piece of crap sheriff is portrayed ok, and maybe Willard at the beginning. Lenora is portrayed well, though it was a different rendering than I expected and her fateful turn didn’t make that much sense on the screen.
Frankly, I’m not sure the movie could go as dark as it needed to and still be allowed on Netflix. That was certainly something I kept thinking about. It’s quite possible. And a reason why books are better. Because they can be worse. It’s like making a film version of Blood Meridian—how and why would you want to do that? This isn’t as violent as BM or as good, though it’s in the ballpark.
I thought I was edgy. Sort of cold at times. Cynical. Then I tried The Devil All the Time. Turns out I’m a whimpering puppy dog compared to the guy who wrote this.
Give it a shot. If you find yourself laughing a lot, maybe see a doctor. Cheers and see you after.
