3.5/5 stars When the trailer for Ron Howard’s Hillbilly Elegy went online recently, the consensus was that the director’s new film was made to be awards bait. It’s a harsh assessment of what is a highly watchable take on J.D. Vance’s bestselling memoir chronicling his difficult upbringing in Appalachia and his journey to studying at Yale Law School. Vance’s book became a talking point during the 2016 US election, with many believing its portrayal of disaffected white working-class pinpointed why Donald Trump swept to power. Howard – working with Vanessa Taylor, who previously scripted Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water – prunes back on Vance’s socio-economic theorising to craft an intimate family drama. For a director who has leaned into blockbuster territory these past few years, Hillbilly Elegy is a return to the more character-driven terrain Howard pursued successfully in the past, with films like Cinderella Man and Parenthood . Flip-flopping between Vance’s troubled childhood in Ohio and his time at Yale, Howard concentrates on his subject’s tumultuous relationship with his mother, Bev. Played by Amy Adams, who is surely completing some sort of addiction trilogy after TV drama Sharp Objects and The Woman in the Window , Bev is a loose cannon, whether it’s one-night stands or, more disturbingly, heroin use. In the flashbacks, Vance is played by Owen Asztalos; weaving around these scenes is the older Vance ( The Kings of Summer ’s Gabriel Basso), travelling back from Yale to his hometown on a mercy dash. Howard isn’t the most nuanced of directors, but he knows how to work with actors, and he draws several excellent performances – none more so than that of Glenn Close, who plays Vance’s grandmother, known as Mamaw. With her tight grey curls, oversized glasses and array of colourful T-shirts with kittens and puppies on them, Close’s convincing transformation takes her far from the urbane sophisticate that she usually plays. The bedrock of the family – who even has a love for Arnold Schwarzenegger in his Terminator role – Mamaw is the sort of no-nonsense, salt-of-the-earth type who soldiers on despite her daughter’s self-destructive behaviour. It’s a terrifically captivating performance from Close, and one that – awards bait or not – more than merits her winning that long overdue Oscar. Less successful are Haley Bennett (as Vance’s older sister Lindsay) and Freida Pinto (as his girlfriend Usha) – both actresses given precious little to do. It’s understandable, if not exactly forgivable. This is Vance’s story, after all: an inspirational tale of survival, success and sorrow. Hillbilly Elegy will start streaming on Netflix on November 24. Want more articles like this? Follow SCMP Film on Facebook