Devil’s Peak (2023) Review: In movies, how often have we seen the “young man trying to escape a life of crime that is being headlined by his own father” narrative? I am not saying it is a bad thing. In fact, I acknowledge the undeniable cinematic charm of the narrative, especially if the movie happens to fall in the Western genre. However, in order to produce a tasty fruit from an already worn-out tree, a lot of hard work is required, otherwise, the result would be something akin to Devil’s Peak.
Trust me, I am not out here with the sole agenda of criticizing this movie. In fact, I was quite excited about the film. For starters it was based on “Where All Lights Tends to Go,” David Joy’s pretty well-received coming-of-age crime novel. Despite being extremely familiar, the premise was intriguing, as I said. With an Appalachian mountain setting and a cast boasting names like Billy Bob Thornton, Robin Wright, and Hopper Penn (Wright’s son with actor Sean Penn), I was kind of hoping for the movie to be an intriguing watch. But the reality, in this case, is particularly disappointing, as I continuously checked how much of it is left, even though the movie’s runtime is less than 100 minutes.
The biggest problem here is the writing. While I did not find it particularly bad, it lacked any kind of flair. And a certain laziness was there as well, which was so frustrating. For instance, the primary motivation behind the young man wanting to escape the world of crime is the woman he is in love with. However, there is barely any development in that romantic plot. So during the climax, which is sort of engaging, nonetheless, the urgency is not felt. It was baffling to see the uneven screenplay spending so much time on Billy Bob Thornton’s drug kingpin Charlie. It was a one-dimensional character with zero redeemable quality whatsoever.
Thornton is a great actor, of course, and he does all he can by infusing his signature mannerisms into playing the baddie. Robin Wright plays Thornton’s addicted ex-wife. She also does her best to portray a troubled character that is slightly better written compared to Thornton’s character. Obviously, the few scenes between Thornton and Wright turn out to be really good.
Hopper Penn, Wright’s real-life son, plays Jacob, the film’s lead. His performance as the young man, suffocated under the weight of his evil father trying his best to break free, is promising enough to believe that the guy might make it big as an actor, following his parents. Hopper’s chemistry with his mother, who also plays his screen mother, is actually one of the few good things about the movie.
The other notable acting performance comes from veteran Jackie Earle Haley, who plays the local police sheriff. The sheriff apparently has an arrangement with Thornton’s Charlie. Emma Booth, star of the fantastic “Hounds of Love” (2016) from the same director, Ben Young, is pretty much wasted here as Charlie’s girlfriend. Katelyn Nacon of The Walking Dead fame also fails to make an impression as Jacob’s love interest Maggie, thanks to her half-baked characterization.
While Devil’s Peak fails to work as a movie, on the whole, there are certainly flashes of brilliance. Michael McDermott’s lush camera work, showcasing the Appalachian mountains of North Carolina, makes the movie look beautiful. In contrast, the screenplay is flat and poorly written, but decent editing somewhat salvages things. The movie starts with putting a gun-wielding, bare-bodied Jacob right in the middle of a gripping situation, along with his narration about his father. This is a fantastic opening sequence. It was very much comparable to putting the meat inside a pressure cooker, but by the time you get back to the scene, all the steam is lost, and so is your interest. The climax is still pretty decent, which involves a twist that you would see coming from a mile. There’s also a rivalry subplot between Jacob and a supporting character, which was established pretty well.
Overall, Devil’s Peak is a forgettable film. It certainly had all the potential to be entertaining, but that just did not happen.
