Joe Bell

Joe Bell
Starring Mark Wahlberg, Reid Miller, Connie Britton, Gary Sinise
Directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green

I never heard of the true story of Joe Bell, so I went into the film with a complete lack of knowledge of the story, which I think is something that both helped and hindered it. I didn't know what happened, so as it unfolded before me, I found myself becoming more surprised than anything, but not in a good way. I know I was supposed to feel one way based on how they tried to direct me toward it, but I found myself more angry than sad; more confused and bewildered than beguiled. "Joe Bell" is unique in that it somehow managed to screw up its own story by getting in its own way, leaving a disjointed feeling at the end of it all.

In white Conservative Oregon, everyman Joe Bell (Mark Wahlberg) gets news from his teenage son Jadin (Reid Miller): he's being bullied in school because he's gay. Joe outwardly talks about loving his son and accepting his choice, but also harboring resentment to his son for being different. He wants Jadin to physically fight back, and to not talk about his gayness to others, but Jadin isn't made that way, which leads him to be bullied more and he can't find anyone to confide to, save for his mother Lola (Connie Britton), until Joe finally wakes up to the way he was thinking. Joe decides to walk from Oregon to New York City to shed light on bullying, and Jadin accompanies him on the journey, where Joe struggles more with his inner demons and his own prejudices that he still harbors for his son.

"Joe Bell" is, simply put, infuriating. It's such an odd, clunky mess that tries to manipulate you into feeling emotion that could've been natural if it was told in a succinct, non-manipulative way. Yet intstead it teeters on the edge between an after school special and a coming out story that's seemingly written by people who've never experienced that in their own lives (which, in itself, doesn't make sense because it was co-written by Diana Ossana and Larry McMurty, who won an Oscar for their work on "Brokeback Mountain"). The story meanders its way providing shocking moments that didn't need to be there, twists that come at you like a train hitting a brick wall that appears out of nowhere, and an ending that is just...unspeakably conniving.

Mark Wahlberg has made a name for himself by starring in patriotic, red-blooded films like "Patriot's Day," "Deepwater Horizon," and "Lone Survivor," and here he seems to play Joe Bell exactly like those protagonists: he maintains a stiff upper lip, hardly ever swaying from his stoic speaking voice, and exudes nothing when it comes to actual compassion or care for his son or anyone other than himself. Even on his journey of "self discovery" he remains a closed-minded, angry man who comes across as self-righteous and indulgent, and hopefully the real Joe Bell wasn't the same way.

Conversely, the only saving grace of this unmitigated mess comes from the revelatory work of Reid Miller, who plays Jadin Bell. He manages to encapsulate Jadin as a broken kid who's being relentlessly bullied in school and who can't seem to find anyone to turn to. His friends are always busy, the guidance counselor thinks he should get counseling, and Joe himself subtly pressures him to be more "normal." Miller shines in his role that's still as generic as they come, but also has a heartfelt center that makes this something somewhat watchable.

It's really hard to review such a film because of its deceitfulness. Halfway through the film there's a twist that's revealed that I literally laughed at, because I thought it was a joke. Then I found out it wasn't, and I was floored, thinking..."wait...what? Really? This is what happened?" Again I didn't know anything about the story beforehand, and if I did then I guess it wasn't really a twist, but it was a twist to me, and one that didn't work at all. It only served to deploy the emotional manipulation that oozed throughout this movie, while also offering generic platitudes and vanilla-style storytelling that glosses over any important aspects and gives merely a blow-by-blow re-telling of a true life story.

With the exception of Reid Miller's revelatory performance, "Joe Bell" is otherwise a manipulative work that doesn't add any true emotional depth to the struggles of gay teenagers and the rough lives they have to face in a world that still demands conformity.

The Score: D+