In Dallas Jenkins’ , a group of kids wreak daily havoc on Emmanuel, a small town somewhere in America. The Herdmans, according to the narrator ( ) of this uneven tale, are “the worst kids in the history of the world” — a title earned by Ralph (Mason D. Nelligan), Leroy (Ewan Wood), Claude (Matthew Lamb), Ollie (Essek Moore), Gladys (Kynlee Heiman) and Imogen (Beatrice Schneider) through a host of shenanigans ranging from personally offensive to downright harmful.
A nifty montage at the beginning of the holiday feature shows the Herdmans bullying kids and adults with impunity; taking the Lord’s name in vain; smoking cigars; stealing from local businesses and even setting fire to a dilapidated shed. Because of their repugnant behavior, residents of the community hardly believed the Herdmans were “real,” says the narrator. “No one knew why they were that way.
” And it appears that few people — including, at times, includes the filmmakers — sincerely want to find out. Based on the 1972 children’s book by Barbara Robinson, is a classic American tale that foregrounds the noncommercial meaning of the holiday. Working from a screenplay by Ryan Swanson, Platte Clark and Darian McDaniel, Jenkins (who is best known for , a historical drama about the life of Jesus) crafts a tale that moves unsteadily between poignancy and a kind of emotional sterility.
The movie comes alive when it’s sketching the town’s petty grievances, or the relationship between the protago.
