By: Lana K. Wilson-Combs
Mark Wahlberg is at his best when he’s playing strong, blue-collar, scrappy type roles. While I’m anxious to see him as Steve Austin in “The Six Billion Dollar Man” movie, in Wahlberg’s latest film
“Joe Bell” he delivers another exceptional performance.
Directed by
Reinaldo Marcus Green (“King Richard” and “Monsters and Men”), from a screenplay by Diana Ossana and Larry McMurtry, (“Brokeback Mountain”), “Joe Bell” is based on a true story about a father from La Grande Oregon who in 2013 walked across the U.S. to New York City to honor his son Jadin (Reid Miller, TV’s “Play by Play”) who committed suicide after being bullied at school for being gay. Jadin wanted to attend college in New York.
The cross-country journey was a way for Bell and his wife Lola (a particularly good Connie Britton, TV’s “The White Lotus”) to not only help them deal with their grief, but also bring awareness about bullying to other teens and anyone else who would listen to him along the way.
The trip, which garnered national attention, also helps Joe come to grips with his own personal issues of intolerance and over time makes him a better father to his youngest son Joseph (Maxwell Jenkins, TV’s “Reacher’ and “Lost in Space”).
“Joe Bell” centers around several flashbacks that reveal the relationship that Jadin had with his family. The shy kid joined the high school football cheerleading team and shared a secret with one of the football team’s star players.
While much of the drama is about what led to Jadin’s tragic death, it’s also about Joe Bell’s inner demons. Gary Sinise (“I Still Believe”) has a small role as a Colorado sheriff who takes time to talk with Joe about his plight. It’s a brief but powerful and emotional scene. There are others too. In fact, the mix of nuanced and dramatic turns from Reid, Wahlberg and Britton that makes “Joe Bell” such an earnest and compelling movie.
Editor's Note: Be sure to catch my N2Entertainment.net movie talk segment on the Kitty O'Neal Show Fridays at 6:20 p.m. on radio station KFBK 93.1 FM and 1530 AM.
Watch This Trailer For
"JOE BELL"
Lana K. Wilson-Combs is a member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA), The Black Film Critics Circle (BFCC), The American Film Institute (AFI), and a Nominating Committee Voting Member for the NAACP Image Awards.
