The World Made Straight
The World Made Straight
R | 09 January 2015 (USA)
The World Made Straight Trailers

In a rural Appalachian community haunted by the legacy of a Civil War massacre, a rebellious young man struggles to escape the violence that would bind him to the past.

Reviews
Diagonaldi Very well executed
Lovesusti The Worst Film Ever
BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.
Freeman This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.
leethomas-11621 Interesting aspects but missing a core. Certain parts seem tamed down, especially teacher Leonard's story. He mostly just sits around reading. Dina's story not easy to understand. Guessed some of the historical story. Acting and production top notch. Accents not easy to understand. Basically I guess its very hard to like these people.
latinfineart This is a lovely little film. Wyle plays a fascinating, and multi layered character, that is well written. And he played it very well. The entire film was very well written. I suspect some of the poor reviews were due to the fact that this film was written for adults! It had historical value, as well as interesting characters, that were well developed. The cinematography was excellent, and the editing was also very good. A tight production, that was well directed. The film had a real sense of time and place. The characters seemed genuine, and real. The historical context of the story was well played out. In the current climate of Hollywood, which is essentially suffering from creative bankruptcy, a film like this is a breath of fresh air. More please.
M MALIK this is such a incredibly boring film from start to end nothing exiting happens i expected some action but none of that came,starts as a very dramatic film about long running violence in family,civil war & drugs etc what bugged me was the dull acting & terrible dialogs the narrative just don't move the pace is slow plus where is the chemistry between actors besides who are these actors everyone seem trying hard to act like Robert De Niro here and what was Minka Kelly doing here didn't she read the script there is absolutely nothing for her role here just 15 minutes before the climax she goes a little insane and does her best crazy mad acting after that nothing happens the whole film you sit through hoping climax would be exiting but no you feel cheated it robs you completely almost everything is terrible here i like good suspense films but this is just some lame wannabe film what genre this falls into is beyond me critics would love this for sure but the regular viewer will lost focus immediately its hard to keep track of what is going on here where was the editor of this film this is such a disappointing overlong bore fest.who is killing who & what is the matter with characters like Dena & the nurse the hero is such a coward that it adds insult to almost every protagonist in any film out there in the world he is not a hero he should be called Zero.Overall The World Made Straight 2015 is a waste of time and money i wasted mine so i am warning you just don't go & watch this film please avoid it at all costs even if you are a Minka Kelly fan my rating is 2/10.Skipp It
Larry Silverstein If you're looking for a feel-good type movie this isn't it. However, if you can get into a very gritty, at times grim film, that has excellent acting and believable characters then this indie might be worth a watch. Set in the 1970's North Carolina Appalachia country (the cinematography is superb), Noah Wylie stars as Leonard, once an Illinois school teacher, but now a small time drug dealer and Civil War buff, living in a trailer with the sexy Dena. Minka Kelly very ably portrays Dena, a drug addict with zero self esteem, who appears to be living comfortably with Leonard, but when the drugs run out, will sell herself and her body to whomever can supply the next fix.Jeremy Irvine also gives a strong performance, as Travis, a lost soul seemingly going nowhere with his life, who will end up staying with Leonard and Dena, after his abusive SOB father (Alex Van) doesn't want him to return to their home. Despite being a school dropout, Travis is a voracious reader, and becomes quite interested in Leonard's Civil War books, and they will begin to bond with their common interest.One central theme of the movie will be the so-called Shelton Laurel Massacre, in 1863, where Travis learns that several of his kin were accused of Unionism during the Civil War, and killed by a firing squad made up of a local Confederate regiment. They'll be some key surprises revealed as the film progresses, regarding both Leonard and Travis's relatives and the massacre over 100 years before.Much of the tension and drama will revolve around Leonard's low-life drug dealing neighbors, the brothers Carlton and Hubert. I thought Steve Earle was exceptional in the role of the older brother Carlton, and Marcus Hester also does well as Hubert. Also, Adelaide Clemens (who reminded me so much in appearance and mannerisms like Michelle Williams) adds well to the mix as Lori, a nurse and possible love interest for Travis. The involvement of these characters together will eventually provide a most combustible situation and lead to quite the tragic and gloomy finale, but offering a ray of hope for some of them.David Burris does a most credible job here with directing, from a solid screenplay from Shane Danielsen, based on the novel by Ron Rash.All in all, this gritty indie will probably only appeal to a certain audience, but I found it engaging throughout with it's believable characters. To be honest, I wasn't thrilled with the rather ambiguous ending, but I felt the overall strength of the story was enough to outweigh that aspect.