Back Roads (2018)

Back Roads: Directed by Alex Pettyfer. With Chiara Aurelia, Jennifer Morrison, Juliette Lewis, Robert Patrick. In 1993, Harley’s dad is shot dead and his mom goes to prison. He has to earn money and look after his 3 kid sisters. No college. Over 2 years, family secrets are slowly revealed. Will a good therapist be enough?

“Back Roads is like watching a train wreck in slow motion. Itu0026#39;s the car accident on the side of the freeway at which you canu0026#39;t help but stare. Bad family situations and dysfunction grow progressively worse as more and more buried facts and emotions are revealed. So sad, it is on the scale of a Greek tragedy, except our hero is not to at all blame, making this a true drama/melodrama. Direction and acting are superb. This is not your typical action/horror/superhero bubble gum fare. This is for intelligent and sensitive adults with patience and appreciation for human suffering. One could argue it is heavy handed, with all the layers upon layers of misfortune and dysfunction, yet that clearly is the intent of the story. Our hero is so admirable and relatable, charged with the responsibility of raising, protecting, and otherwise caring for his three younger sisters, but in many ways, he is still a child himself, and a scarred one at that. Living in this impossibly chaotic and crazy situation on a day to day basis makes a predictable, restrained life in an asylum or penitentiary seem to be a step up. Now I want to read the novel.”