This is an editorialized and analytical review of the changes made. For more straight-forward news, check out my article at CBR.
Although it is as fast-paced and meandering as its source material, Antonio Campos’ The Devil All the Time shares several differences from the novel of the same name by Donald Ray Pollock. Exploring the changes sheds light on the choices made in the grim and unflinching tale of morality and corruption in the deep south.
Hollywood Touch
The casting choices in the film, while excellent, differ from the descriptions in the book. American film and television have accustomed audiences to seeing beautiful people, and perhaps it is more palatable to watch attractive people commit hideous crimes. Reverend Teagardin is described in the book as a sweaty “fat boy” who immediately repulses Arvin. Though Robert Pattison embodies the slimy, lecherous character down to his tight pants and frilled shirt, he is nonetheless visually attractive. Additionally, Jason Clarke’s Carl is certainly no catch, but he is also a far cry from the repulsive and overweight Carl of the book. Carl’s weight in the book plays a role in the plot, as it prevents him from chasing his only victim who escapes. His appearance in the book also better contrasts Carl against the young and fit men he prefers to photograph and kill.
Buckets of Blood
The sacrifices in the film do not hold back, especially when it comes to poor Jack, who was doomed from the start. However, the book depicts an even more unflinching and gory take on sacrifices. In the book, Willard is propositioned by his rental home owner to murder the man’s wife and her lover in exchange for ownership of the property. Though owning their own home would fulfill Charlotte’s dying wish, Willard instead chooses to murder the property owner and use him as a human sacrifice to God. Willard’s PTSD from the war mingles with his faith to disastrous and bloody results as he ends up pouring “buckets of blood” on the prayer log. By choosing to sacrifice the property owner along with countless other animals, he places his twisted faith in God. Since the sacrifices don’t help Charlotte, his choice seems to suggest that God is either absent or uninterested.
Timeline Changes
The movie chooses to pair up Sandy/Carl and Charlotte/Willard on the same day in the same place. In the book, Sandy and Carl meet at the diner years after Willard and Charlotte have died. The mirroring in the film is notable because, despite the conflicting moralities of the couples, all four meet brutal and violent deaths. The similar outcomes underscore the theme of random brutality that plagues the story, while also hinting at the possibility that someone might indeed be pulling the strings behind the scene. It also pairs Carl and Sandy up by chance, perhaps suggesting their chance encounter led to the killings. On the other hand, Carl flirting with a young waitress in the book suggests he would have found different “bait” had he not happened upon Sandy. Is God interfering, and if so, does he have a dark sense of humor?
Sandy and Carl
Sandy and Carl are together for around 5 years in the book, since Sandy dies at age 23 and meets Carl in her late teens. In contrast, Sandy and Carl are together in the film from before Arvin is born through his teenage years. This is significant because the couple has been able to live their brutal lifestyle for so long. In the book, their way of living has taken an enormous toll on Sandy in a short period. She has horribly stained teeth, appears to be in her 40s, and suffers from frequent infections due to being prostituted. Sandy has lost her luster rapidly due to being with Carl, which is contrasted by the youthful waitress he flirts with who resembles how Sandy was before Carl influenced her. Though the lifestyle also takes a toll on Sandy in the film and causes her to consider leaving Carl, she has withstood her way of life for a significantly longer period.
Carl’s Presence
While Arvin is the hero of both the book and film, Carl takes on more the role of the main character in the book. He creates a looming, maggoty presence as he prostitutes Sandy in graphic detail, living off the money produced by her flesh and sweat. He spends dark hours alone in the apartment, deriving all of his sexual pleasure from his photos to the point where he no longer takes a sexual interest in Sandy. The photos are both his source of joy and fear, as he obsesses over someone finding them. He would never leave them out for Sandy, like in the film, nor would book Sandy have derived enjoyment from reviewing their kills. The part of the experience she enjoyed was sex with the young and charming men, basking in the brief notion of a different life like she considers with Arvin before she dies. Additionally, Lee never sees Carl’s murderous photos until after the couple dies.
Roy’s Story
Roy manages to squeeze in almost two decades more of life in the book before he discovers that it is too late for redemption. Roy’s story is condensed in the film, omitting some of the ugliness the book portrays. Theodore plays a larger presence on paper, as the deeply disturbed man is both in love with his cousin and is a pedophile. Roy doesn’t need a spider bite to convince him to kill Helen; all it takes is some persuasion from a jealous Theodore to convince him that God wants him to perform a miracle, as he believes from his faith alone that she will be revived. Her death leaves the men on the run for many years, living a sordid and bleak existence. It isn’t until Theodore dies surrounded by piles of his waste that Roy sets out to seek Lenora, at which point she is already dead. In the film, he is killed while trying to get her when she is still a baby.
Ambiguous End
The ending of the book is quicker than the film, as Arvin similarly buried Jack and the gun and sets off to possibly hitchhike. The ending is abrupt but filled with a surprising note of hope after the bleak tale the reader has been immersed in. Arvin acted at the right time as his father taught him, and he ends the book by leaving for good to hopefully seek something better. Whether or not he finds that is uncertain, as are the details about what such as life would constitute. In contrast, the film ends with a voiceover that was not in the book, showing Arvin attempting to moralize his actions. Arvin reflects on his past and future as he sets out for Cincinnati with a long-haired and bearded man who perhaps is intended to resemble Jesus.
BONUS: CINCINNATI
Going to Cincinnati is, in fact, a nod to book readers, though it isn’t significant for film viewers alone. In perhaps the best written passage of the book, Hank (who helps Arvin after he finds his father and meets him again towards the end of the story) dreams about going to Cincinnati and seeing a ball game. It is through doing this that Hank believes his entire life will get started, which hasn’t happened many years later as Hank is still working the same job and dreaming of Cincinnati. Hank’s wish to go to Cincinnati truly highlights how small his world is in a heartbreaking depiction of human dreams and longing that is not reflected in the film.
Sometime soon, he was going to drive down to the river city and see a doubleheader. His plan was to buy a good seat, drink beer, stuff himself with their hot dogs. He’s heard hot dogs tasted better in a ballpark, and he wanted to find out for himself. Cincinnati was just ninety miles or so on the other side of the Mitchell Flats, a straight shot down route 50, but he’s never been there, hadn’t been any further west than hillsboro his entire twenty-two years. Hank had the feeling that his life would really begin once he made that trip.
One response to ““The Devil All the Time” Seven Film & Book Changes”
I always enjoy a good film, but usually find the book the film is based upon to be better and have more detail.