Devil's Peak (film)

Devil's Peak (originally titled Where All Light Tends to Go)^[2] is a 2023 American crime thriller film directed by Ben Young and starring Billy Bob Thornton and Robin Wright.^[3] It is based on the novel Where All Light Tends to Go by David Joy.^[4]

Devil's Peak
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Ben Young
Written by	Robert Knott
Based on	Where All Light Tends to Go by David Joy
Produced by	Griff Furst Josh Kesselman Robert Knott Robin Wright Jamie Hilton Sterling Griffin
Starring	Billy Bob Thornton Hopper Penn Katelyn Nacon Emma Booth Brian d'Arcy James Jackie Earle Haley Robin Wright
Cinematography	Michael McDermott
Edited by	Merlin Eden
Music by	Adam Spark
Production companies	Curmudgeon Films Thruline Entertainment
Distributed by	Screen Media
Release date	February 17, 2023 (2023-02-17)
Running time	98 minutes[1]
Country	United States
Language	English

The film was released in select theaters on February 17, 2023, before releasing on digital on February 24, 2023. It received negative reviews from critics.

Cast

• Billy Bob Thornton as Charlie^[4]
• Robin Wright as Virgie^[4]
• Hopper Penn as Jacob McNeely^[4]
• Katelyn Nacon as Maggie^[5]
• Emma Booth as Josephine^[6]
• Jackie Earle Haley as Rogers^[6]
• Brian d'Arcy James as Bo^[6]
• David Kallaway as Gerald Cabe^[5]
• Jared Bankens as Jeremy Cabe
• Mark Ashworth as Luke
• Harrison Gilbertson as Bull^[5]

Production

Filming began in Atlanta, Georgia on November 1, 2021.^[6][7][8]

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 36% based on 22 reviews, with an average rating of 5.1/10.^[9] On Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, the film has a score of 38 out of 100 based on 8 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".^[10]

In a review for Variety, Murtada Elfadl praised the film's performances and characters, but says it "crumbles due to Penn's inexperienced performance,” further noting Wright's "dedication" and Thornton's monologues which "he gnaws on with relish".^[11] Brian Tallerico for RogerEbert.com gave the film 1 out of 4 stars, considering the film overall "atrocious", Penn's performance "a dour, non-performance that becomes a black hole in the center", Thornton playing a "cartoonish version of menace", and an "excellent" Wright underutilized due to her character.^[12]