Frankly, my dear, it’s melodramatic
With its sticky- hot Dixie setting, haunted small- town folks and dead- end vibe, “Battlecreek” invokes some symbolic tale out of the 1950s or ’ 60s given the once- over by Tennessee Williams.
That said, there’s something credibly affecting about the f ilm’s main character, Henry (“It” boy Bill Skarsgård), a young man with a rare skin disease that forces him to avoid sunlight.
When a car driven by the mysterious Alison ( Claire van der Boom) sputters into the garage where Henry works nights with the ebullient Arthur ( Delroy Lindo, excellent), a friendship — and more — develops between the two lost souls.
Watching the blossoming of Henry, whose neck and chest were left scarred by a sunburn, keeps us invested, even as Alison’s course turns predictably melodramatic.
Anthea Anka’s earnest script manages to paint Henry as a kindly, poetic fellow but with enough quiet self- possession to avoid sinking him in pathos. It’s a tricky balancing act, beautifully matched by Skarsgård’s depiction.
On the other hand, Tallulah, Henry’s clingy mother, is a hoary mix of boozyf loozy clichés and contradictions made worse by Paula Malcomson’s unsubtle turn.
Director Alison Eastwood (“Rails & Ties”), despite an affinity for the material, takes a stagy approach, when a more lyrical, atmospheric style was in order.
“Battlecreek.” Not rated. Running time: 1 hour, 39 minutes. Playing: In limited release.