When her husband disappears, an Appalachian farmer is forced to repay his
debt to a local criminal family.
Review by
Sue Finn
Directed by: Ruckus Skye, Lane Skye
Starring: Danielle Deadwyler, Catherine Dyer, Jayson Warner Smith, Brad Carter,
Luce Rains
"In the 18th century," the words on the screen tell us, "those escaping
oppression sought refuge in the Appalachians. Their descendants still
occupy the mountain, self-sustaining and self-governing."
In a cosy rustic home a young woman, Lemon (Danielle Deadwyler),
tucks her son Coy into bed. He asks for his daddy, and she says daddy is
off "gallivanting," but he always comes home.
We see a tough but happy life the next morning as they do chores, eat,
and play with their pet goat. She tells a story about how you earn
things in life if you are honest and hardworking. It’s all tyre swings,
golden sunlight, jaunty music and a full immersion into the world of
these isolated mountain folk.
Two intimidating men arrive at her door and insist on coming inside.
They tell her she needs to leave her son in their care while she goes to
see the Runion family matriarch, Tommy, who runs the small Appalachian
community. Unfortunately Lemon’s wayward husband has her truck, so she
departs on foot, spying a human ear nailed to a tree on the outskirts of
the Runion homestead as she enters it.
Tommy Runion is all country woman charm, making biscuits for the boys
as she welcomes our protagonist into her kitchen. It seems the Runion
family provides the mountain-folk with power and they pay her for the
privilege. Lemon's lost husband owes a debt and they intend to collect
from the possibly-newly single mum and her boy.
Tommy’s threats are chilling: "Pay up or I’ll murder your boy and bury
you alive next to him," she purrs in between culinary tips for the
southern cook.
Borrowing a car from the local store owner Grady, Lemon begins the trip
to try to find her husband, or money, or both. On the way she runs into
a backwoods cult that like to prove their faith with painful ceremonies;
their chants of "back to the ether" taking on a more unsettling edge as
you realise they are not above committing smiling-faced murder as some
sort of spiritual release.
When Lemon discovers the path of her husband it resolves nothing and
just lands her in more hot water; not to mention unearthing grievances
and feuds thought resolved. Lemon finds she has been manipulated into a
scapegoat position she has no way of fighting except with cunning and
violence.
Written and directed by husband and wife team Lane and
Ruckus Skye in their feature film debut, this is impressive
stuff. A clever and engrossing plot that takes place in a fully realised
and fascinating world. The gorgeous Georgian mountains are shot with
reverence and affection by Sherman Johnson and the fine work by
production designer and art directors Jesse Kray and
Susan Neal is beautifully textured and intricate.
The film is accompanied by a jangly bluegrass soundtrack composed by
Brad Carter that’s as much a part of this movie's blueprint as
the southern accents and the impenetrable locale.
The acting is mostly very fine, with Catherine Dyer suitably
repellent as Tommy Runion, but the central performance by Deadwyler (Watchmen) is nothing short of revelatory. She is raw, impassioned, brave,
believable, tough and still vulnerable and sympathetic. You cannot take
your eyes off her wonderfully expressive face - this performance
deserves awards recognition.
The moments of shocking violence, or at least the after effects of
them, are sudden and unexpected, blood curdling in their banality. But
this is a world of truces and traditions, family and long generations of
kin. This is a world where blood feuds are real things and people die
over the loss of a tree somebody's granddaddy planted decades ago. It’s
not for the faint of heart.
Immerse yourself in this wonderful film. You’ll be glad you did.
The Devil to Pay is on Netflix
UK/ROI now.