Introduction
Hindsight can be a double-edged sword. On one side, knowledge gained from life events teaches people how to make better decisions going forward. On the other side, that better understanding can also make a person despair over what they could have done differently in the situation. When the consequences are dire, even more so. In the new film Joe Bell, flashbacks serve as literal hindsight as a father questions the events surrounding the devastating bullying of his beloved son.
Synopsis
Joe Bell (played by a scruffy Mark Wahlberg) is a typical working-class father, fully ensconced in the middle class of small-town Oregon. He likes working hard, watching the game with his friends, and being part of his tight-knit community. His gruff manner is not unlike most dads in his neck of the woods.
While he loves his family dearly, Joe does not suffer fools lightly, and he has the temper to prove it. When his oldest son Jadin interrupts the big game to tell Joe that he is getting bullied at school, it is likely the first time that the reason is finally acknowledged. A reason Joe knows but can’t quite wrap his head around yet. Jadin is gay.
While the big reveal doesn’t seem to be a surprise to anyone in Jadin’s inner circle, Joe is still resistant to full acceptance. It’s not easy for a guy like Joe to overhear bigoted remarks amidst the crowd while Jadin performs with the cheerleading squad at the Friday night game.
Under average circumstances, most men find it tricky bonding with their teenage son, mic less when you share very few common interests. But in the quiet moments, after Joe has had time to cool off and realizes that his son is simply living his best life, he offers his sweet son his unconditional love and a promise to do better.
Despite Joe’s support, however, the bullying escalates, and utter desperation leads to the unthinkable. In solidarity with his son, Joe takes on a personal mission to spread the word about the consequences of bullying. This by delivering that message one town at a time while crossing the country on foot.
Review
Joe’s literal hindsight in the wake of Jason’s saga is shown via flashbacks throughout his cross-country trek. As the two narratives begin to intersect, Joe begins to finally understand his son better than ever before. While the conflicted father comes to terms with the things he could’ve done better, he also learns that acceptance starts with yourself.
Joe’s painful realization of his son’s suffering mirrors the misery Joe endures from braving the elements on the open road. It’s through this kind of heartbreaking penance that a beautiful story of a father’s enduring love emerges. On the journey, Joe hears countless stories of alienation and torment from LGBTQ+ friends he makes along the way.
While some will inevitably view the procession of cautionary tales in Joe Bell as overkill, others will appreciate the need to tell these stories, however cringe-worthy. In a pivotal flashback, Jadin’s mom Lola (Connie Britton) implores Joe to verbalize his support for his son because some things need to be said.
In Joe Bell, director Reinaldo Marcus Green does a heroic job saying the things that need to be said through survivor stories while building a cohesive and meaningful story. Green’s effective blend of the kinetic flashback sequences with the desolate and contemplative scenes from Joe’s travels is a playground for cinematographer Jacques Jouffret.
Gorgeously filmed shots of sweeping landscape perpetuate a sense of openness throughout the film. Its a sense that helps the viewing audience to crystallize the themes of personal freedom in Joe Bell. It emphasizes the liberty to be who you are, without the threat of personal harm.
Performances
With Mark Wahlberg’s broad appeal, hopefully, this message will get the reception Joe Bell himself intended when he set out on his pilgrimage. It certainly helps that Wahlberg’s depiction of the dedicated father gives off Oscar vibes with the prior nominee’s (for 2006’s The Departed) dry, yet intriguing and nuanced delivery.
An Everyman that everyone can root for, and Wahlberg nails it once again. Throughout Joe Bell, the actor displays a complicated level of depth and humility. Even during the actor’s still moments, there is clearly a lot that is going on under the surface.
Wahlberg perfectly encapsulates the awful inner conflict of a character who loves his son dearly. Yet has to come to his own understanding, in his own time. Wahlberg’s understated performance makes it feel like Joe could be your uncle, or brother, or neighbor. A neighbor coming to terms in a similar situation.
Connie Britton is a revelation as Joe’s exasperated wife Lola. And hooray for a fully realized “wife/mom” character! This is thanks to the award-winning screenwriting team of Diana Ossana (Brokeback Mountain, Streets of Laredo) and late legend, Larry McMurtry (Brokeback Mountain, The Last Picture Show).
Britton gets to pack her portrayal with a complex mix of devoted mother, frustrated wife, and repressed woman. All under the guile of capable matriarch. When Lola is thrown into the pits of despair, her devastation is so palpable, so convincingly conveyed by the incredibly talented Britton, it’s tough to keep a dry eye.
As the troubled Jadin, Reid Miller initially comes off like many precocious young actors. Plenty of talent, great timing, with loads of charisma. But soon it becomes apparent that Miller’s versatility eclipses most mainstream teen histrionics. While Miller naturally gets to flex his dramatic muscles in the heavier scenes of the film. His real cleverness is revealed in happier flashback sequences.
Conclusion
A surprising, lovely teen romance breaks up the doom and gloom, and allows the audience to fall for Jadin, while he falls in love for the first time himself. Miller’s sweetly stunned take on the vulnerable character provides the perfect conduit for skittish audiences and a bittersweet reminder for those who have a Jadin of their own.
Without betraying the ending, Joe Bell is a bummer. A beautiful, poetic, emotional, necessary bummer. At a glance, Bell himself teaches that no one deserves to be bullied and that people can recognize their mistakes and strive to do better.
Upon closer inspection though, Joe Bell’s greater message turns out to be a much more complex lesson of acceptance through greater understanding and also an exercise in forgiveness, both to others and to ourselves.
Roadside Attractions will release Joe Bell nationwide, only in theaters, on July 23, 2021.
