Back Roads (2019)

★ 5.8 1h 41m IMDb

Drama Thriller Crime

A young man cares for his younger sisters after their mother is imprisoned for murdering their abusive father. When he strikes up an affair with a married woman, long-dormant family secrets bubble to the surface.

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Cast

Alex Pettyfer as Harley Altmyer Age 36 · Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England, UK Alexander Richard "Alex" Pettyfer (born 10 April 1990) is an English actor and model. He appeared in school plays and on television before being cast as Alex Rider, the main character in the 2006 film...

Jennifer Morrison as Callie Mercer Age 47 · Chicago, Illinois, USA Jennifer Morrison (born April 12, 1979) is an American actress, director and film producer. She is best known for her roles on House and Once Upon A Time as well as How I Met Your Mother..

Nicola Peltz Beckham as Amber Altmyer Age 31 · Westchester County, New York, USA Nicola Peltz (born January 9, 1995) is an American film and television actress, best known for playing Katara in M. Night Shyamalan's feature film "The Last Airbender", as well as Bradley Martin in th...

June Carryl as Betty Age 58 · Iowa City, Iowa, USA Playwright and actor who grew up in Denver, Colorado. Starting out in Political Science at Brown, intending to be a lawyer, she bailed on the last round of LSAT's and pursued a Ph.D. in English Litera...

Juliette Lewis as Bonnie Altmyer Age 52 · Los Angeles, California, USA Juliette Lake Lewis (born June 21, 1973) is an American actress and singer. She is known for her portrayals of offbeat characters, often in films with dark themes. Lewis became an "it girl" of America...

Tom Everett Scott as Brad Mercer Age 55 · East Bridgewater, Massachusetts, USA Thomas Everett Scott (born September 7, 1970) is an American actor. His film work includes a starring role as drummer Guy Patterson in the film That Thing You Do!, the protagonist in An American Werew...

Director Alex Pettyfer

Cast Alex Pettyfer, Jennifer Morrison, Nicola Peltz Beckham, June Carryl, Juliette Lewis, Tom Everett Scott, Danika Yarosh, Robert Patrick, Sky Elobar, Chiara Aurelia

Wuchak 6/10 Mar 03, 2021

_**Gloomy and painful drama about a fudged-up family in the Eastern sticks**_

After a mother (Juliette Lewis) goes to prison for shooting her husband in a backwater town in the Eastern USA, a young man (Alex Pettyfer) has to forsake college and take care of his three younger sisters, including a teenage hellion (Nicola Peltz). Meanwhile a wife who lives down the lane catches his interest (Jennifer Morrison).

"Back Roads" (2018) is a melancholy psychological family drama with a crime element that could be classified as Southern Gothic. While the events take place in Western Pennsylvania they could occur in any backwater community in the Eastern USA or Canada. The film was shot in St. Francisville, Louisiana, which is a half-hour drive north of Baton Rouge along the Mississippi.

Films that come to mind include “Mud” (2012), “Joe” (2013), "Winter's Bone" (2010), “Undertow” (2004), "Snow Angels" (2007), “Monster’s Ball” (2001) and “The Fugitive Kind” (1960). The flick leaves you with a bad taste because it deals with some ugly things and features painful emotions, not to mention it’s unrelentingly gloomy. If you think your family growing up was dysfunctional, you ain’t seen nothing. But, if you reflect on the movie and the understated clues, everything makes sense and is well-written, based on Tawni O'Dell 1999 novel. Just don’t expect a pleasant time.

The film runs 1 hour, 41 minutes.

GRADE: B-/C+

guns.razors.knives 8/10 Mar 22, 2026

The emotional weight of this movie is impeccable, for the two oldest Altmyer children, in your mind you know that they are commiting acts out of the ordinary and may be frowned upon, but considering the fact that they are products of their not-so-sweet upbringing, you can't help but think of nothing but sorrow.

The film is not an intensely gripping thriller but there's that element of allure that just keeps you glued to the screen, even though a little predictable, you never really really know what you're going to into in the next scenes. The main characters are messed up, that's just it, but little Jodie is the glimmer of hope for me.

3.899/5 rating