Joe Bell
2020 · Directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green
Original language: English
- drama
The story
The true story of a small town, working class father who embarks on a solo walk across the U.S. to crusade against bullying after his son is tormented in high school for being gay.
What it’s like
Wide, unhurried shots of American highway shoulders, scrubby desert and flat grey towns dominate, with the camera often holding on a single figure against vast empty space and the blunt midday glare of the road. Interiors lean warm and dim, kitchens and bedrooms lit by lamplight or thin window light, and the palette shifts from sun-faded beige and dust to cooler, washed-out school corridors. The score stays sparse and restrained, with long stretches of wind, traffic hum and quiet footsteps. The mood is heavy and grieving, a slow melancholy that tightens during the flashbacks to a teenager's bullying and a family's unspoken strain. Pacing is deliberate, with the emotional arc built around a stubborn, practical father slowly confronting his own failures and softening toward his son. Intensity is moderate: the central subject is suicide and sustained cruelty toward a gay teen, with some harsh bullying scenes and a grim tone, but no gore and little overt violence, and the suicide is handled with restraint rather than shown in detail. Suited to a quiet, sad evening or a reflective weekend, this is for viewers who want a grounded, emotionally serious drama about parenting, bigotry and grief rather than escapism.
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