The Devil Has A Name is a dark comedy that brings to light the greed of corporations and the fact that they will do just about anything for money.
The Devil Has A Name almost immediately gave me some Erin Brockovich vibes, and that isn’t a bad thing. This movie is about a farmer named Fred, who has recently lost his wife, and he discovers a large corporation has been poisoning the water on his land. He believes this played a part in losing his wife, and of course, it isn’t helping his crops either. When he decides to take them to court over this, they do all that they can to prevent any sort of payout.
This move has some humor moments, and honestly I am living for the relationship between Edward James Olmos (Santiago) and David Strathairn (Fred). Olmos plays Strathairn’s farmhand who has worked with him for thirty years. Of course this means they have spent a lot of time together, and formed an unbreakable friendship. They go through some ups and downs just in this movie, but I loved seeing them together. Their relationship reminds me of my husband and his best friend and I just really, really believed it.
Haley Joel Osment, who has been in a lot of things recently, plays one of the villains in this and man, his performance is amazing. Once again, I loved to hate him. So crazy to think he was that adorable boy in The Sixth Sense so long ago. In The Devil Has A Name he portrays one of the greedy businessmen and he was easily one of my favorite characters.
Katie Aselton plays a lawyer for the corporation in this movie and she absolutely crushes the role as well. She is a great actress and I loved seeing her take on a powerful role like this one. Honestly the villains in this were some of my favorite characters. It was clear that they were willing to do whatever it takes to come out on the good side of this trial.
At the same time, you just have to root for the little guys as well. Of course poor Fred doesn’t have much money to dump toward a lawyer, but he has all the heart in the world. He just wants things to be made right. He lost his wife, and is losing his farm. Your heart just has to bleed for him. At least a little bit.
His lawyer is played by Martin Sheen who, of course, does an amazing job as well. Seriously this movie is packed with an all star cast, and it pays off. I was sucked into the story immediately. I needed to know what was going to happen in this trial. Seeing the corporation pull out all the punches to not only turn the town against the farmer, but to threaten him to his face.
Overall Thoughts
The Devil Has A Name does a perfect job of showcasing that many corporations do not care at all about what they put people through. This movie is actually based on true events and that does not surprise me one bit. This corporation was willing to do whatever it could in order to protect their image and money. Unfortunately, there are many that are still like that in the world today.
The movie highlights not only the issues of corporate greed, but also rights of undocumented immigrants, and the unfortunately real loophole that allows oil companies to dump toxic waste in wastewater ponds. This movie goes deep, and while it is humorous at times, it is very dark at others.
An absolutely must watch movie, no matter which side of the political fence you fall on, The Devil Has A Name also showcases the power of friendship.
About The Devil Has A Name
An ambitious oil executive leaves the whole industry exposed when she attempts to outwit a recently widowed farmer whose water she has poisoned.
Inspired by true events, THE DEVIL HAS A NAME stars an ensemble cast of David Strathairn, Kate Bosworth, Edward James Olmos, Martin Sheen, Alfred Molina and Haley Joel Osment. The film is the screenwriting debut of Rob McEveety and directed by Edward James Olmos.
THE DEVIL HAS A NAME in select theatres, On Demand,
and Digital on October 16, 2020.
