Hillbilly Elegy (2020)
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A young man navigates the complexities of family, addiction, and personal ambition while growing up in a struggling rural community.
The story
JD Vance looks back on his childhood in Middletown, Ohio, where he was raised by his mother Beverly "Bev" and her parents from Jackson, Kentucky. In 1997, then 13-year-old JD and his older sister, Lindsay, struggle with their mother's drug addiction and unstable behavior. After a series of personal and family struggles, JD is taken in by his grandmother, Bonnie "Mamaw" Vance. Mamaw attempts to provide a stable environment and push JD toward a better future. As JD faces the challenges of his upbringing, he must decide how to navigate his path toward adulthood while dealing with the reality of his family's circumstances.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
JD Vance looks back on his childhood in Middletown, Ohio, where he was raised by his mother Beverly "Bev" and her parents from Jackson, Kentucky. In 1997, 13-year-old JD and his sister Lindsay struggle with Bev's drug addiction. After a series of incidents, including Bev's erratic behavior and the death of her father, Papaw, JD is taken in by his grandmother, Mamaw. Mamaw tries to keep JD on the right path while he deals with peer pressure and academic struggles. JD eventually joins the Marine Corps and later attends law school. In 2011, as an adult, JD works multiple jobs to attend Yale Law School. When he learns his mother has overdosed, he travels to Middletown to find her. He finds her in a motel, removes her drug paraphernalia, and leaves her with his sister. The film ends with an epilogue showing JD and his wife, Usha, living in Ohio with their children, while Bev has been sober for six years.
- First release year
- 2020
- Runtime (minutes)
- 115
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Ron Howard
- Writers
- Vanessa Taylor · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Amy Adams · Beverly "Bev" Vance, JD's mother; Glenn Close · Bonnie "Mamaw" Vance, JD's grandmother; Gabriel Basso · JD Vance; Haley Bennett · Lindsay Vance, JD's older sister; Freida Pinto · Usha Vance; Bo Hopkins · Papaw Vance, JD's grandfather; Owen Asztalos · young JD; Tiery Smith · young Bev
- Genres
- biographical; drama
- Themes
- addiction; poverty; family dynamics; resilience
- Tone and mood
- melodramatic
- Setting
- Middletown, Ohio and Jackson, Kentucky; 1997 to 2011.
- Premise and plot tags
- biographical; based on a memoir
- Source material / true-story basis
- 2016 memoir by JD Vance
- Reception
- The film received mixed to negative reviews from critics, though it was noted for the strong performances of its lead actors.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 24% · scale: percentage · review count: 260; Rotten Tomatoes · score: 81% · scale: percentage · review count: 2,500; Metacritic · score: 38 · scale: 100 · review count: 43
- Awards and nominations
- Golden Raspberry Awards · Worst Director · nomination; Golden Raspberry Awards · Worst Screenplay · nomination; Golden Raspberry Awards · Worst Supporting Actress · nomination; Academy Awards · Best Makeup and Hairstyling · nomination; Academy Awards · Best Supporting Actress · nomination; Screen Actors Guild Awards · Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role · nomination
- Production trivia
- The film was the most-watched film on Netflix on its first day of release.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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