The World Made Straight is a 2015 drama, which is set in the Appalachian mountains. The film boasts some fairly big stars, including The Sixth Sense’s Haley Joel Osment, The Librarians’s Noah Wyle, Steve Earle, and Rectify’s Adelaide Clemens. Of course, British actor, Jeremy Irvine, leads the film, as Travis, who is a rebellious young dropout trying to make do in the small town, where historical feuds continue to haunt the area. The film has many references to the historical 1863 Shelton Laurel Massacre, which is often forgotten, when compared to the Hatfields and McCoys family feud.

As the story unfolds, Travis finds himself in all kinds of trouble, when he stumbles into a trap set by local drug dealer, Carlton (Steve Earle). Although he survives the bear trap, Travis is transported to the hospital, where he meets, Lori (Adelaide Clemens), who nurses him back to health. Due to his troubles, Travis is forced to move in with Leonard (Noah Wyle) and his drug addicted girlfriend, Dena (Minka Kelly). From here, Travis picks up many bad habits from Leonard, but he does find one item, which will change his future.

The pair go to the site of the Shelton Laurel Massacre, with a metal detector. When given control, Travis is able to find a pair of glasses, which belongs to one of the victims, David Shelton. Travis begins developing an interest in the 13 year old, as his relationship with Lori continues to develop. Of course, nothing can be happy in the south, as he eventually gets into deep trouble, while hanging out with his buddy, Shank (Haley Joel Osment). Still, David Shelton continues speaking to Travis from the grave. Will he ever be able to overcome his problems, get his GED and break the cycle of the southern youth? Or will he continue to dive deeper into alcohol and drugs?

Review


The World Made Straight definitely has some good moments and the acting wasn’t too shabby. Jeremy Irvine did really well with the southern accent, despite being of British descent. The same can be said of Adelaide Clemens, but this is nothing new for Rectify fans. The rest of the cast was spot on, as well, even Steve Earle, who is better known for his other talents.

This is certainly a bleak movie, in all regards. The scenes are gray and depressing, while the music is pretty much the same. This is one of the few suitable moments for country music, but it works wonderfully here. All of the southern landscapes and imagery was definitely realistic and pleasing on the eyes.

While the movie is certainly worth a watch, it is somewhat lacking in some regards. The overall story fell a little bit flat and was unable to keep up with the outstanding cast. A little bit of the movie seemed to drag out a bit, but the biggest gap was the relationship build up between Lori and Travis, until Lori seemed to just drop out of the picture, until the end. Otherwise, the movie portrayed southern life in a fairly realistic manner. It deserves a 6.5 out of 10 and is definitely worth a watch.