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2018
Samuel Goldwyn Films
1 h 41 m

2018
Samuel Goldwyn Films
1 h 41 m

Summary After his mother (Juliette Lewis) is imprisoned for killing his abusive father, Harley Altmyer (Alex Pettyfer) is left to care for his three younger sisters in rural Pennsylvania. Harley forgoes his college education, working dead-end jobs to pay the bills and raise his siblings, including his rebellious and promiscuous 16-year-old siste...

Directed By: Alex Pettyfer

Written By: Tawni O'Dell, Adrian Lyne

2018
Samuel Goldwyn Films
1 h 41 m

2018
Samuel Goldwyn Films
1 h 41 m

Back Roads

Metascore Mixed or Average Based on 7 Critic Reviews

42

User Score Generally Favorable

6.5

My Score

Hover and click to give a rating Saved

Where to Watch

Summary After his mother (Juliette Lewis) is imprisoned for killing his abusive father, Harley Altmyer (Alex Pettyfer) is left to care for his three younger sisters in rural Pennsylvania. Harley forgoes his college education, working dead-end jobs to pay the bills and raise his siblings, including his rebellious and promiscuous 16-year-old siste...

Directed By: Alex Pettyfer

Written By: Tawni O'Dell, Adrian Lyne

Where to Watch

Critic Reviews

Metascore

Mixed or Average Based on 7 Critic Reviews

0% Positive
0 Reviews

71% Mixed
5 Reviews

29% Negative
2 Reviews

All Reviews
Positive Reviews
Mixed Reviews
Negative Reviews

Critic Reviews

Metascore

Mixed or Average Based on 7 Critic Reviews

0% Positive
0 Reviews

71% Mixed
5 Reviews

29% Negative
2 Reviews

All Reviews
Positive Reviews
Mixed Reviews
Negative Reviews

Dec 5, 2018

Given the outlandishness of the material here, it would have been easy to start getting unwanted laughs in the second half of the film, but Pettyfer and his actors find the truth in it, even in a very long and demanding take where Harley confronts his mother in prison.

By Dan Callahan FULL REVIEW

Dec 7, 2018

It now takes more than it once did to shock us, and Back Roads wants to do just that, but the effect, in this case, is more audacious than it is convincing.

By Owen Gleiberman FULL REVIEW

The Hollywood Reporter

Dec 5, 2018

While Back Roads doesn't live up to its considerable dramatic and thematic ambitions, it provides a strong opportunity for its filmmaker/star to stretch his dramatic muscles in the lead role.

By Frank Scheck FULL REVIEW

Austin Chronicle

Dec 5, 2018

If you and the film find yourself on the same wavelength, there is a fair amount here to like. Like many actors moving behind the camera, Pettyfer may err a bit too much on the side of loud performances, but cinematographer Jarin Blaschke (The Witch) adds some much-needed desperation to these characterizations through his unsentimental depiction of rural Pennsylvania.

Los Angeles Times

Dec 5, 2018

Though there’s an abiding sensitivity in the often-noirish approach to the story’s many traumas and its characters’ flailing attempts at coping, as a whole it’s something of a tonal mess.

By Robert Abele FULL REVIEW

Nov 27, 2018

Whatever it wants to say about abuse, its mental, social and sexual impact on its victims, however “daring” it aims to be, Back Roads loses in its pursuit of the sordid.

By Roger Moore FULL REVIEW

Dec 7, 2018

Not all tearful screaming sessions translate well from the page to the screen, and this is an excruciating example of overkill.

By Monica Castillo FULL REVIEW

User Reviews

User Score

Generally Favorable Based on 4 User Ratings

50% Positive
2 Ratings

50% Mixed
2 Ratings

0% Negative
0 Ratings

User Reviews

User Score

Generally Favorable Based on 4 User Ratings

50% Positive
2 Ratings

50% Mixed
2 Ratings

0% Negative
0 Ratings

There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.

Details

Production Company Upturn Productions, Infinity Media, Black Hangar Studios, Creation Film and Television, Orwo Studios

Release Date Dec 7, 2018

Duration 1 h 41 m

Genres

Website https://www.facebook.com/BackRoadstheMovie/

View All Details

Awards

Rhode Island International Film Festival

• 1 Win & 1 Nomination

Young Entertainer Awards

• 1 Win & 1 Nomination

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