[Published at Film Inquiry] Actor Alex Pettyfer has starred in blockbusters and big studio films along the likes of I Am Number Four, Magic Mike, Lee Daniels’ The Butler, and Elvis & Nixon. Pettyfer makes his directorial debut with Back Roads, a far more quiet, subdued film than audiences are used to watching him in. It’s an audacious directorial effort that proves Pettyfer might have a newfound career behind the camera. Furthermore, Pettyer manages to turn in his finest performance to date. It’s a film that, although distributed by one of the most well-known companies, Samuel Goldwyn Films, will most likely be seen in the homes of the majority of its viewers as opposed to in the theater.

Back Roads is about a family in the backwoods of Pennsylvania struggling to make ends meet. After his mother (Juliette Lewis) is arrested for the suspected murder of his father, Harley (Pettyfer) must look after his younger sisters Amber (Nicola Peltz), Misty (Chiara Aurelia), and Jody (Hala Finley). Back Roads is based on Oprah’s Book Club selection, Tawni O’Dell‘s eponymous, New York Times bestselling novel. O’Dell also adapted the screenplay along with Oscar-nominated screenwriter and director Adrian Lyne (Fatal Attraction). For the most part, the script is strong, the direction assured, and the acting believable in Back Roads.

Family Secrets Abound

One might think of Back Roads as a neo-noir in the guise of a family drama and romance film. It’s a fairly common structure for a story: a dysfunctional rural American family with secrets galore. Harley chooses to take care of his three sisters over a college education, working at a discount department store to pay the bills. Making this tougher than it has to be on Harley is Amber, his 16-year-old rebellious sister who seemingly goes out with a different abusive older man every other night. When Harley strikes up an affair with Callie (Jennifer Morrison), an older, married woman down the street, it only compounds his problems, and secrets start to pour out.

Did their mother really kill their father? Who was their father, really? The truth may just be too much for Harley to bear, who frequently sees a therapist (June Carryl) to keep his head above water. Back Roads touches upon some considerably taboo subject matter without appearing melodramatic, desperate for shock value, cheesy, or too expositional. Callie and Harley’s therapist serve as catalysts to uncover a rather uncomfortable truth that goes beyond the recent murder of Harley’s father. It all makes for a considerably unorthodox mystery.

Double-Duty

Pettyfer pulls double-duty in directing and acting in Back Roads, no easy feat for anybody, no matter how much talent they have to work with. There are some skilled sequences behind the camera, moving through rooms, watching drama happen from a distance or from the outside looking in and vice-versa, etc. The film was shot mostly in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, a growing motion picture location in the American South, providing much of the rural, gloomy atmosphere throughout Back Roads. As an actor, Pettyfer continues to grow. He displays a multitude of emotions, mostly on the depressed end of the spectrum, which makes it impressive that he’s able to maintain this intense state-of-mind throughout Back Roads‘ 101-minute runtime.

At the helm, Pettyfer manages to obtain some admirable performances all round, particularly an always-superb Lewis, Peltz, and Morrison. It’s a shame that Lewis only has a few scenes to work with, as her screen presence demands more screen time. It’s Morrison(known for her roles on House and Once Upon a Time) who steals each scene with Pettyfer. As a married mom intermeshed in Harley’s family drama, Morrison‘s sympathetic performance hits all the right notes.

A Minimalistic Approach

Back Roads is a slow burner that lead to a rather anticlimactic ending. That isn’t to say that the secrets that become unveiled aren’t shocking, but the way in which O’Dell, Lyne, and Pettyfer uncover the mystery over the course of the film is fairly understated. If one hasn’t read the novel, the creative trio behind the film adaption do a phenomenal job of keeping the viewer guessing. That is, until the third act, when the mystery begins to unravel at an unexpectedly fast pace. What starts as a romance born out of tragedy morphs into a bizarre miasma of family dysfunction.

Above all, Back Roads is a thoughtful examination of patterns of abuse within families. It may take time to get there, but when it arrives to its central issue and themes, Back Roads is anything but slow. However, in withholding so much information for such an extended amount of screentime, Back Roads meanders a bit in its first two acts. John Hunter‘s score sticks to Pettyfer, Lyne, and O’Dell‘s minimalistic approach, and for the most part, accompanies the mood harmoniously.

Back Roads: A Promising Debut For Pettyfer

Interestingly, co-writer Lyne was originally slated to direct, but the Jacob’s Ladder director backed out, giving Pettyfer the opportunity from the studio make his directorial debut. Pettyfer wasn’t even the studio’s first choice to play Harley. Originally, Andrew Garfield was attached to play the central character. Perhaps it worked out for the best, because Pettyfermore than rose to the occasion in front of and behind the camera. If Back Roads is any indication of Pettyfer‘s budding talent as a director, the young actor will likely have plenty more doors open in that capacity in the near future.

A well-acted, mostly captivating, and wholly unpredictable noir, Back Roads is an impressive directorial debut for Pettyfer, who pulls double-duty in his strongest screen performance yet.

Did you enjoy Pettyfer’s directorial debut? Which performance was your favorite? Do you prefer the book or the film?

Back Roads saw a limited theatrical release and hit VOD platforms on December 7, 2018. For more information on its release, click here.

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