Amy Adams plays Bev in a still from "Hillbilly Elegy." (Netflix/Lacey Terrell)
"Hillbilly Elegy," based on the inspiring 2016 memoir of Yale educated lawyer and venture capitalist J.D. Vance (Gabriel Basso), is a compelling biopic offering a look into a poor, white Appalachian family in the 1990s. J.D., his abusive mom Bev (Amy Adams) and sister Lindsay (Haley Bennett) live in Middleton, Ohio, but they spend summers with grandparents Mamaw (Glenn Close) and Papaw (Bo Hopkins) in Kentucky.
The narrative moves back and forth from Ohio to Kentucky, from past to present where Bev, a nurse who loses her job, struggles with drug addiction and Mamaw tries to keep things together as she always has. J.D. likes spending time in Kentucky, even when other kids bully him. He's a good teen but when his mom takes him to live with her latest boyfriend and his son, he gets into trouble. Mamaw brings him to live with her and one of the most profound moments in the film is when she divides her Meals on Wheels lunch with J.D., truly giving from her want.