Warning: minor spoilers ahead.
Robert Pattinson, best known as the heart-throb vampire Edward Cullen from “The Twilight Saga” movies, has completely swept viewers off their feet with his outstanding role as Preston Teagardin, a corrupt and self-righteous pastor on Netflix’s new psychological thriller, “The Devil All The Time.”
The movie follows Arvin Russell (Tom Holland), a new orphan who is destined to protect his remaining family from a town of deceit and evil masked by religion, while also battling his own trauma. The film is based on the novel of the same name, written by Donald Ray Pollock. Pollock also narrates the movie.
Pattinson’s character doesn’t come in until close to the middle of the film. Despite the short amount of screen time he has, he still manages to nail the role, which might be the darkest one Pattinson has played yet. One especially noteworthy aspect of Pattinson’s top-notch acting is his absolutely accurate southern accent, which even dialect coaches have labeled as “fascinating work.”
In a conversation between Pattinson and director Antonio Campos, documented by Insider, it is revealed that it was impossible to get Pattinson a dialect coach for his character’s accent. Pattinson also refused to speak in his accent until the first day of shooting. When he finally opened his mouth, however, Campos was impressed but not surprised.
“There was no way in my mind that he [Pattinson] wasn’t going to come on set with something bad. I might not have dug it, but it wasn’t going to be bad. I’d rather have someone come with something weird that’s a choice than something that isn’t thought out. So, I knew he would come with something interesting.”
And, Campos was correct, Pattinson’s accent was show-stopping and he most definitely did not fail. A week after the movie’s release, Pattinson’s accent is one of the most popular Google searches about this movie.
Overall, Pattinson did a stunning job at capturing such a sinister yet important character in the screen time he had. The all-star cast did not disappoint, and in the end the movie played out in a twisted way that was very well done. Props to all of those amazing actors and actresses involved— however, Pattinson definitely gets our award for best accent.
“The Devil All The Time” also stars Sebastian Stan, Bill Skarsgård, Riley Keough, and Jason Clarke. The movie has been streaming on Netflix since Sept. 16, 2020.
Featured Image courtesy of Amanda Gibbs via Flickr Creative Commons
